'DO   YOU   KNOW   WHAT   YOU'RE   SAYING,    SIR?" 


THE    BIG    BROTHER    SERIES. 


CAPTAIN  SAM 


OR 


THE   BOY   SCOUTS   OF    1814 


BY 

GEORGE     GARY     EGGLESTON 

Author  of  ''''The  Big  Brother"  etc.t  etc. 


NEW    YORK  : 
G.    P.    PUTNAM'S    SONS, 

182  FIFTH  AVENUE. 
1876. 


COPYRIGHT. 

G.    P.    PUTNAM'S    SONS. 
1876. 


Stack 
Annex 


To  MY  BOY-FRIEND 
MONTAGUE   DOUGLAS, 

IN  RECOGNITION   OF    HIS   MANLY   CHARACTER,  AND   IN   MEMORY 

OF  THE  FOOT-JOURNEYS  WE  MADE   TOGETHER  A  YEAR  AGO, 

I    DEDICATE   THIS    BOOK. 


CAPTAIN    SAM. 


CHAPTER  I. 

A   MUTINY. 

you   say    another  word,   I'll  punish 
you." 

The  young  man,  or  boy  rather, — for 
he  was  not  yet  eighteen  years  old, — who  made  this 
very  emphatic  remark,  was  a  stalwart,  well-built 
youth,  lithe  of  limb,  elastic  in  movement,  slender, 
straight,  tall,  with  a  rather  thin  face,  upon  which 
there  was  as  yet  no  trace  of  coming  beard,  high 
cheek  bones,  and  eyes  that  seemed  almost  to  emit 
sparks  of  fire  as  their  lids  snapped  rapidly  together. 
He  spoke  in  a  low  tone,  without  a  sign  of  anger 
in  his  voice,  but  with  a  look  of  earnestness  which 
must  have  convinced  the  person  to  whom  he  ad- 


8  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

dressed  his  not  very  suave  remark,  that  he  really 
meant  to  do  precisely  what  he  threatened. 

As  he  spoke  he  laid  his  left  hand  upon  the 
other's  shoulder,  and  placed  his  face  as  near  to 
,his  companion's  as  was  possible  without  bringing 
their  noses  into  actual  contact ;  but  he  neither 
clenched  nor  shook  his  fist.  Persons  who  mention 
weapons  which  they  really  have  made  up  their 
minds  to  use,  do  not  display  them  in  a  threatening 
manner.  That  is  the  device  of  bullies  who  think 
to  frighten  their  adversaries  by  the  threatening  ex 
hibition  as  they  do  by  their  threatening  words. 
Sam  Hardwicke  was  not  a  bully,  and  he  did  not 
wish  to  frighten  anybody.  He  merely  wished  to 

ma^e  the  boy  hold  his  tongue,  and  he  meant  to  do 

* 

that  in  any  case,  using  whatever  measure  of  vio 
lence  he  might  find  necessary  to  that  end.  He 
said  he  would  punish  the  boy  merely  because  he 
meant  to  do  so  if  it  should  be  necessary. 

His  companion  saw  his  determination,  and  re 
mained  silent 

"  Now,"  resumed  Sam,  "  I  wish  to  say  some 
thing  to  all  of  you,  and  I  will  say  it  to  you  as 
an  officer  should  talk  to  soldiers  on  a  subject  of 


A  MUTINY.  9 

this  sort.  Fall  into  line !  Right  dress !  steady, 
front!" 

The  boys  were  drawn  up  in  line,  and  their 
commander  stood  at  six  paces  from  them. 

"  Attention !  "  he  cried,  "  I  wish  you  to  know 
and  remember  that  we  are  engaged  in  no  child's 
play.  We  are  soldiers.  You  have  not  yet  been 
mustered  into  service,  it  is  true,  but  you  are  sol 
diers,  nevertheless,  and  you  shall  obey  as  such. 
Listen.  When  it  became  known  in  the  neighbor 
hood  that  I  had  determined  to  join  General  Jack 
son  and  serve  as  a  soldier  you  boys  proposed  to 
go  with  me.  I  agreed,  with  a  condition,  and  that 
condition  was  that  we  should  organize  ourselves 
into  a  company,  elect  a  captain,  and  march  to 
Camp  Jackson  under  his  command,  not  go  there 
like  a  parcel  of  school-boys  or  a  flock  of  sheep 
and  be  sent  home  again  for  our  pains.  You  liked 
the  notion,  and  we  made  a  fair  bargain.  I  was 
ready  to  serve  under  anybody  you  might  choose 
for  captain.  I  didn't  ask  you  to  elect  me,  but  you 
did  it.  You  voted  for  me,  every  one  of  you,  and 
made  me  Captain.  From  that  moment  I  have 
been  responsible  for  everything. 


10  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  I  lead  you  and  provide  necessary  food.  I  plan 
everything  and  am  responsible  for  everything.  If 
you  misbehave  as  you  go  through  the  country  I 
shall  be  held  to  blame  and  I  shall  be  to  blame. 
But  not  a  man  of  you  shall  misbehave.  I  am 
your  commander,  you  made  me  that,  and  you 
can't  undo  it.  Until  we  get  to  Camp  Jackson  I 
mean  to  command  this  company,  and  I'll  find 
means  of  enforcing  what  I  order.  That  is  all. 

O 

Right  face !  Break  ranks ! " 

A  shout  went  up,  in  reply. 

"  Good  for  Captain  Sam ! "  cried  the  boys. 
"  Three  cheers  for  our  captain  !  " 

"  Huzza!  Huzza!  Huzza!" 

All  the  boys, — there  were  about  a  dozen  of  them 
— joined  in  this  shout,  except  Jake  Elliott,  the  muti 
neer,  who  had  provoked  the  young  captain's  anger 
by  insisting  upon  quitting  the  camp  without  per 
mission,  and  had  even  threatened  Sam  when  the 
young  commander  bade  him  remain  where  he  was. 

The  revolt  was  effectually  quelled.  The  mu 
tineer  had  found  a  master  in  his  former  school 
mate,  and  forebore  to  provoke  the  threatened  cor 
poral  punishment  further. 


A  MUTINY.  n 

The  camp  was  in  the  edge  of  a  strip  of  woods 
on  the  bank  of  the  Alabama  river,  the  time,  after 
noon,  in  the  autumn  of  the  year  1814.  The  boys 
had  marched  for  three  days  through  cane-brakes, 
and  swamps,  and  had  still  a  long  march  before 
them.  Sam  had  called  a  halt  earlier  than  usual 
that  day  for  reasons  of  his  own,  which  he  did  not 
explain  to  his  fellows.  Jake  Elliott  had  objected, 
and  his  objection  being  peremptorily  overruled  by 
Sam,  he  had  undertaken  to  go  on  alone  to  the 
point  at  which  he  wished  to  pass  the  remainder  of 
the  day,  and  the  night.  Sam  had  ordered  him  to 
remain  within  the  lines  of  the  camp.  He  had  re 
plied  insolently  with  a  threat  that  he  would  him 
self  take  charge  of  the  camp,  as  the  oldest  person 
there,  when  Sam  quelled  the  mutiny  after  the  man 
ner  already  set  forth. 

Now  that  he  was  effectually  put  down,  he 
brooded  sulkily,  meditating  revenge. 

As  night  came  on,  the  camp  fire  of  pitch  pine 
threw  a  ruddy  glow  over  the  trees,  and  the  boys, 
weary  as  they  were  with  marching,  gathered  around 
the  blazing  logs,  and  laughed  and  sang  merrily 
Jake  Elliott  was  silent  and  sullen  through  it  all, 


12  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

and  when  at  last  Sam  ordered  all  to  their  rest  for 
the  night,  Jake  crept  off  to  a  tree  near  the  edge  of 
the  prescribed  camp  limits  and  threw  himself  down 
there.  Presently  a  companion  joined  him,  a  boy 
not  more  than  fourteen  years  of  age,  who  was  great 
ly  awed  by  Sam's  sternness,  and  who  naturally 
sought  to  draw  Jake  into  conversation  on  the  sub 
ject 

"You're  as  big  as  Sam  is,"  he  said  after  a  while, 
"  and  I  wonder  you  let  him  talk  so  sharp  to  you. 
You're  afraid  o'  him,  aint  you  ?  " 

"  No,  but  you  are." 

"  Yes  I  am.  I'm  afraid  o'  the  lightning  too,  and 
he's  got  it  in  him,  or  I'm  mistaken." 

"  Yes  'n'  you  fellows  hurrahed  for  him,  'cause 
you  was  afraid  to  stand  up  for  yourselves." 

"  To  stand  up  for  you,  you  mean,  Jake.  It 
•-wasn't  our  quarrel.  We  like  Sam,  if  we  are  afraid 
o'  him,  an'  between  him  an'  you  there  wa'nt  no 
•  call  for  us  to  take  sides  against  him.  Besides  we're 
soldiers,  you  know,  an'  he's  capt'n." 

"  A  purty  capt'n  he  is,  aint  he,  an'  you're  a  purty 
soldier,  aint  you.  A  soldier  owning  up  that  he's 
afraid,"  said  Jake  tauntingly. 


A  MUTINY.  13 

"  Well,  you're  afraid  too,  you  know  you  are, 
else  you  wouldn't  'a'  shut  up  that  way  like  a  turtle 
when  he  told  you  to." 

"  No,  I  aint  afraid,  neither,  and  you'll  find  it  out 
'fore  you're  done  with  it.  I  didn't  choose  to  say 
anything  then,  but  /'//  get  even  with  Sam  Hard- 
wickeyet,  you  see  if  I  don't." 

"  Mas'  Jake,"  said  a  lump  of  something  which 
had  been  lying  quietly  a  little  way  off  all  this  time, 
but  which  now  raised  itself  up  and  became  a  black 
boy  by  the  name  of  Joe,  who  had  insisted  upon  ac 
companying  Sam  in  his  campaigns  ;  "  Mas'  Jake, 
I'se  dun  know'd  Mas'  Sam  a  good  deal  better  'n  you 
know  him,  an'  I'se  dun  seed  a  good  many  things 
try  to  git  even  wid  him,  'fore  now  ;  Injuns,  water, 
fire,  sunshine,  fever  'n  ager,  bullets  an'  starvation 
all  dun  try  it  right  under  my  eyes,  an'  bless  my 
soul  none  on  'em  ever  managed  it  yit." 

"  You  shut  up,  you  black  rascal,"  was  the  only 
reply  vouchsafed  the  colored  boy. 

"  Me  ? "  he  asked,  "  oh,  I'll  shut  up,  of  course, 
but  I  jist  thought  I'd  tell  you  'cause  you  might 
make  a  sort  o'  'zastrous  mistake  vou  know.  Other 

* 

folks  dun  dun  it  fore  now,  tryin'  to  git  even  wid 
Mas'  Sam." 


I4  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  Go  to  sleep,  you  rascal,"  replied  Jake,  "  or 
I'll  skin  you  alive." 

Joe  snored  immediately  and  Jake's  compan 
ion  laughed  as  he  crept  away  toward  the  fire.  An 
hour  later  the  camp  was  slumbering  quietly  in  the 
starlight,  Sam  sleeping  by  himself  under  a  clump 
of  bushes  on  the  side  of  the  camp  opposite  that 
chosen  by  Jake  Elliott  for  his  resting-place. 


GETTING  EVEN  IN  THE  DARK. 


CHAPTER  II. 

GETTING    EVEN    IN   THE    DARK. 

AM  HARDWICKE  had  thrown  himself 
down  under  a  clump  of  bushes,  as  I  have 
said,  a  little  apart  from  the  rest  of  the 
boys.  Before  he  went  to  sleep,  however,  his  brother 
Tom,  a  lad  about  twelve  years  of  age,  but  rather 
large  for  his  years,  came  and  lay  down  by  his  side, 
the  two  falling  at  once  into  conversation. 

"  What  made  you  fire  up  so  quick  with  Jake 
Elliott,  Sam  ?  "  asked  the  younger  boy. 

"  Because  he  is  a  bully  wrho  would  give  trouble 
if  he  dared.  I  didn't  want  to  have  a  fight  with 
him  and  so  I  thought  it  best  to  take  the  first  oppor 
tunity  of  teaching  him  the  first  duty  of  a  soldier, — 
obedience." 

"  But  you  might  have  reasoned  with  him,  as 
you  generally  do  with  people." 


1 6  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  No   I  couldn't,"  replied  Sam. 

"Why not?"  Tom  asked. 

"  Because  he  isn't  reasonable.  He's  the  sort  of 
person  who  needs  a  master  to  say '  do '  and  '  don't.' 
Reasoning  is  thrown  away  on  some  people." 

"  But  you  had  good  reasons,  didn't  you,  for 
stopping  here  instead  of  going  on  further  ?  "  asked 
Tom. 

"  Certainly.  There's  the  Mackey  house  five 
miles  ahead,  and  if  we'd  gone  on  we  must  have 
stopped  near  it  to  night  ?  " 

"  Well,  what  of  that  ?  " 

"  Jake  Elliott  would  have  pilfered  someth  ng 
there." 

"  How  do  you  know  ? "  asked  Tom  in  some 
surprise  at  his  brother's  positiveness. 

"  Because,"  Sam  replied,  "  he  tried  to  steal 
some  eggs  last  night  at  Bungay's.  I  stopped  him, 
and  that's  why  I  choose  to  camp  every  night  out  of 
harm's  way,  and  keep  all  of  you  within  strict 
limits.  I  don't  mean  to  have  people  say  we're  a 
set  of  thieves.  Besides,  Jake  Elliott  has  meant  to 
give  trouble  from  the  first,  and  I  have  only  waited 
for  a  chance  to  put  him  down.  He  isn't  satisfied 


GETTING  EVEN  IN  THE  DARK.  ij 

yet,  but  he's  afraid  to  do  anything  but  sneak.  He'll 
try  some  trick  to  get  even  with  me  pretty 
soon.'' 

"  Oh,  Sam,  you  must  look  out  then,"  cried  Tom 
in  alarm  for  his  brother.  "  Why  don't  you  send 
him  back  home  ?  " 

"  For  two  or  three  reasons.  In  the  first  place 
General  Jackson  needs  all  the  volunteers  he  can 
get." 

"  Well,  what  else  ?  " 

"  That's  enough,  but  there's  another  good 
reason.  If  I  let  him  go  away  it  would  be  saying 
that  I  can't  manage  him,  and  that  would  be  a  sorry 
confession  for  a  soldier  to  make.  I  can  manage 
him,  and  I  will,  too." 

"  But  Sam,  he'll  do  you  some  harm  or  other." 

"  Of  course  he  will  if  he  can,  but  that  is  a  risk 
I  have  to  take." 

"  Well,  I'm  going  to  sleep  here  by  you,  any 
how,"  said  Tom. 

"  No  you  mustn't,"  replied  the  elder  boy.  "  You 
must  go  over  by  the  fire  where  the  other  boys  are, 
and  sleep  there." 

"Why,  Sam?" 


1 8  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  Well,  in  the  first  place,  if  I'm  not  a  match  in 
wits  for  Jake  Elliott,  I've  no  business  to  continue 
captain,  and  I've  no  right  to  shirk  any  trial  of 
skill  that  he  may  choose  to  make.  Besides  you're 
my  brother,  and  it  will  make  the  other  boys  think 
I'm  partial  if  you  stay  here  with  me.  Go  back 
there  and  sleep  by  the  fire.  I'll  take  care  of  my 
self  " 

"  But  Sam — "  began  Tom. 

"Yozive  seen  me  take  care  of  myself  in  tighter 
places  than  any  that  he  can  put  me  in,  haven't  you  ?  " 
asked  Sam.  "  There's  the  root  fortress  within  ten 
feet  of  us.  You  haven't  forgotten  it  have  you  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Tom,  rising  to  go,  "  and  I  don't 
think  I  shall  forget  it  soon ;  but  I  don't  like  to  let 
my  '  Big  Brother '  sleep  here  alone  with  Jake 
.Elliott  around." 

"  Never  mind  me,  I  tell  you,  but  go  to  the  boys 
and  go  to  sleep.  I'll  take  care  of  myself." 

With  that  the  two  boys  separated,  Tom  walk 
ing  away  to  the  fire,  and  Sam  rolling  himself  up 
in  his  blanket  for  a  quiet  sleep.  He  had  already 
removed  his  boots,  coat  and  hat,  and  thrown  them 
together  in  a  pile,  as  he  had  done  every  night 


GETTING  EVEN  IN  THE  DARK.  jg 

since  the  march  began,  partly  because  he  knew 
that  it  is  always  better  to  sleep  with  the  limbs  as 
free  as  possible  from  pressure  of  any  kind,  and 
partly  because  he  suffered  a  little  from  an  old 
wound  in  the  foot,  received  about  a  year  before  in 
the  Indian  assault  upon  Fort  Sinquefield,  and 
found  it  more  comfortable,  after  walking  all  day, 
to  remove  his  boots. 

The  camp  grew  quiet  only  by  degrees.  Boys 
have  so  many  things  to  talk  about  that  when  they 
are  together  they  are  pretty  certain  to  talk  a  good 
while  before  going  to  sleep,  and  especially  so  when 
they  are  lying  in  the  open  air,  under  the  starlight, 
near  a  pile  of  blazing  logs.  They  all  stretched 
themselves  out  on  the  ground,  weary  with  their 
day's  march,  and  determined  to  go  at  once  to  sleep, 
but  somehow  each  one  found  something  that  he 
wanted  to  say  and  so  it  was  more  than  an 
hour  before  the  camp  was  quite  still.  Then 
every  one  slept  except  Jake  Elliott.  He  lay 
quietly  by  a  tree,  and  seemed  to  be  sleeping 
soundly  enough,  but  in  fact  he  was  not  even  doz 
ing.  He  was  laying  plans.  He  had  a  grudge 
against  Sam  Hardwicke,  as  we  know,  and  was  very 


20  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

busily  thinking  what  he  could  do  by  way  of  re 
venge.  He  meant  to  do  it  at  night,  whatever  it 
might  be,  because  he  was  afraid  to  attempt  any 
thing  openly,  which  would  bring  on  a  conflict  with 
Sam,  of  whom  he  was  very  heartily  afraid.  He 
was  ready  to  do  any  thing  that  would  annoy  Sam, 
however  mean  it  might  be,  for  he  was  a  coward 
seeking  revenge,  and  cowardice  is  so  mean  a  thing 
itself,  that  it  always  keeps  the  meanest  kind  of 
company  in  the  breasts  of  boys  or  men  who  har 
bor  it.  Boys  are  apt  to  make  mistakes  about  cow 
ardice,  however,  and  men  too  for  that  matter,  con 
founding  it  with  timidity  and  nervousness,  and  im 
agining  that  the  ability  to  face  unknown  danger 
boldly  is  courage.  There  could  be  no  greater  mis 
take  than  this,  and  it  is  worth  while  to  correct  it. 
The  bravest  man  I  ever  knew  was  so  timid  that  he 
shrunk  from  a  shower  bath  and  jumped  like  a  girl 
if  any  one  clapped  hands  suddenly  behind  him. 
Cowardice  is  a  matter  of  character.  Brave  men 
are  they  who  face  danger  coolly  when  it  is  their 
duty  to  do  so,  not  because  they  do  not  fear  danger 
but  because  they  will  not  run  away  from  a  duty. 
Cowards  often  go  into  danger  boastfully  and  with- 


GETTING  EVEN  IN  THE  DARK.  2\ 

out  seeming  to  care  a  fig  for  it,  merely  because 
they  are  conscious  of  their  own  fault  and  afraid 
that  somebody  will  find  it  out.  Cowards  are  men 
or  women  or  boys,  who  lack  character,  and  a  gen 
uine  coward  is  very  sure  to  show  his  lack  of  mor 
al  character  in  other  ways  than  by  shunning  danger. 
They  lie,  because  they  fear  to  tell  the  truth,  which 
is  a  thing  that  requires  a  good  deal  of  moral  cour 
age  sometimes.  They  are  apt  to  be  revengeful,  too, 
because  they  resent  other  people's  superiority 
to  themselves,  and  are  not  strong  enough  in 
manliness  to  be  generous.  They  seek  revenge 
for  petty  wrongs,  real  or  imaginary,  in  sly,  sneak 
ing,  cowardly  ways  because — well  because  they 
are  cowards.  Jake  Elliott  was  a  boy  of  this  sort. 
He  was  always  a  bully,  and  people  who  imagined 
that  courage  is  best  shown  by  fighting  and  blus 
tering,  thought  Jake  a  very  brave  fellow.  If  they 
could  have  known  him  somewhat  better,  they 
would  have  discovered  that  all  his  fighting  was 
done  merely  to  conceal  the  fact  that  he  was  afraid 
to  fight.  He  measured  his  adversaries  pretty  ac 
curately,  and  in  ordinary  circumstances  he  would 
have  fought  Sam,  when  that  young  man  talked  to 


22  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

him  as  he  did  in  the  beginning  of  this  story.  There 
was  that  in  Sam's  bearing,  however,  which  made 
Jake  afraid  to  resist  the  imperious  will  that  assert 
ed  itself  more  in  the  quiet  tone  than  in  the  threat 
ening  words.  He  was  Sam's  full  equal  physically, 
but  he  had  quailed  before  him,  and  he  could  scarce 
ly  determine  why.  It  annoyed  him  sorely  as  he 
remembered  the  loud  cheering  of  the  boys.  He 
chafed  under  the  consciousness  of  defeat,  and 
dreaded,  the  hints  he  was  sure  to  receive  whenever 
he  should  bully  any  of  his  companions,  that  he 
had  a  score  still  unsettled  with  Sam  Hardwicke.  He 
knew  that  he  was  a  coward,  and  that  the  other  boys 
had  found  it  out,  and  he  almost  groaned  as  he  lay 
there  in  the  silence  and  darkness,  meditating  re 
venge. 

A  little  after  midnight  he  got  up  silently  and 
crept  along  the  river  bank  to  the  clump  of  bushes 
where  Sam  lay  soundly  sleeping.  His  first  im 
pulse  was  to  jump  upon  the  sleeper  and  fight  him 
with  an  unfair  advantage,  but  he  was  not  yet  free 
from  the  restraining  influence  of  Sam's  eye  and 
voice  so  recently  brought  to  bear  upon  him. 

No,  he  dared  not  attack   Sam   even  with  so 


GETTING  EVEN  IN  THE  DARK.  23 

great  an  advantage.     He  must  injure  him  secretly 
as  he  had  determined  to  do. 

Creeping  along  upon  all-fours,  he  felt  about 
for  Sam's  boots,  and  finding  them  at  last,  was  just 
about  to  move  away  with  them  when  Sam  turned 
over. 

Jake  sank  down  into  the  sand  and  listened, 
his  heart  beating  and  the  sweat  standing  in  great 
drops  on  his  forehead.  Sam  did  not  move  again, 
however,  but  seemed  still  to  sleep.  After  waiting 
a  long  time  Jake  crept  away  noiselessly,  as  he 
had  come. 

Slipping  down  over  the  low  sand  bank  he  stood 
by  the  river's  edge  with  the  boots  in  his  hand. 

"  Now,"  he  muttered  to  himself,  "  I  guess  I'll 
be  even  with  '  Captain  Sam.'  By  the  time  he 
marches  a  day  or  two  barefoot  with  that  game 
foot  o'  his'n,  I  guess  he'll  begin  to  wish  he  hadn't 
been  quite  so  sassy." 

Filling  the  boots  with  sand  he  swung  them 
back  and  forth,  meaning  to  toss  them  as  far  out 
into  the  river  as  he  could.  Just  as  he  was  about 
quitting  his  hold  of  them,  a  terrifying  thought 
seized  him.  The  sand-filled  boots  would  make  a 


24  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

good  deal  of  noise  in  striking  the  water,  and  Sam 
on  the  bank  above  would  be  sure  to  hear.  Jake 
was  ready  enough  to  injure  Sam.  but  he  was  not 
by  any  means  ready  to  encounter  that  particularly 
cool  and  determined  youth,  while  engaged  in  the 
act  of  doing  him  a  surreptitious  injury.  He 
must  go  higher  up  the  stream  before  putting  his 
purpose  into  execution. 

The  bank  at  this  point  was  crowned  with  a 
great  pile  of  drift  wood,  the  accumulation  of  many 
floods,  which  had  been  caught  and  held  in  its 
place  by  two  great  trees  from  the  roots  of  which 
the  water  had  gradually  washed  the  sand  away 
until  the  trees  themselves  stood  up  upon  great 
root  legs,  fifteen  feet  long.  The  trees  and  the 
drift  rjile  were  the  same  in  which  Sam  Hardwicke 
had  hidden  his  little  party  a  year  before,  when 
the  fortunes  of  Indian  war  had  thrown  him,  with 
Tom  and  his  sister,  and  the  black  boy  Joe,  upon 
their  own  resources  in  the  Indian  haunted  forest. 
The  story  is  told  in  a  former  volume  of  this 
series.*  Sam's  resting  place  just  now  was  within 


*  The  Big  Brother,  published  by  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons.     A 
friend  suggests  that  many  northern  readers  may  doubt  the  existence 


GETTING    EVEN    IN    THE    DARK. 


GETTING  EVEN  IN  THE  DARK.  2$ 

a  few  feet  of  the  great  tree  roots,  but  Sam  was 
not  sleeping  there,  as  Jake  Elliott  supposed.  He 
had  been  wide  enough  awake,  ever  since  Jake 
first  startled  him  out  of  sleep,  and  he  had  silently 
observed  that  worthy's  manoeuvres  through  the 
bushes.  Jake  crept  along  the  edge  of  the  drift 
pile  to  its  further  end,  intending  to  toss  the  boots 
into  the  river  as  soon  as  he  should  be  sufficiently 
far  from  Sam  for  safety.  As  he  went,  however, 
his  awakened  caution  grew  upon  him.  He  re 
flected  that  Sam  would  suspect  him  when  he 
should  miss  his  boots  the  next  morning,  and 
mi^ht  see  fit  to  call  him  to  account  for  their  ab- 

o 

sence.  He  intended,  in  that  case,  stoutly  to  deny 
all  knowledge  of  the  affair,  but  he  could  not  tell 
in  advance  precisely  how  persistent  Sam's  sus- 


of  such  trees  as  those  which  I  have  described  briefly  here,  and 
more  fully  in  "  The  Big  Brother."  I  think  it  right  to  explain, 
therefore,  that  I  have  seen  many  such  trees  with  roots  exposed  in 
the  manner  described,  in  the  west  and  south,  and  my  favorite 
playing  place  as  a  boy  was  under  precisely  such  a  tree.  Of  course 
no  tree  could  stand  the  sudden  removal  of  ten  or  fifteen  feet 
of  earth  from  beneath  it ;  but  the  trees  described  have  gradually 
undergone  this  process,  and  the  roots  have  struck  constantly 
deeper,  their  exposed  parts  gradually  changing  from  roots,  in  the 
proper  sense,  to  something  like  a  downward-branching  tree  trunk. 


26  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

picion  might  be,  and  it  seemed  to  him  better  to 
leave  himself  a  "hole  to  crawl  through,"  as  he 
phrased  it,  if  the  necessity  should  come.  He 
resolved,  therefore,  that  instead  of  throwing:  the 

o 

boots  away,  he  would  hide  them  so  securely  that 
no  one  else  could  possibly  find  them.  "  Then," 
thought  he,  "  if  the  worst  comes  to  the  worst  I 
can  find  'em,  and  still  stick  to  it  that  I  didn't  take 
'em  away."  An  opening  in  the  pile  of  driftwood 
just  at  hand,  was  suggestive,  and  Jake  crept  into 
it  passing  under  a  great  log  that  lay  lengthwise 
just  over  the  entrance.  The  passage  way  through 
the  drift  was  a  very  narrow  one  but  it  did  not 
come  to  an  end  at  the  end  of  the  great  log  as 
Jake  had  expected,  and  he  felt  his  way  further. 
The  passage  turned  and  twisted  about,  but  he  went 
on,  dark  as  it  was.  After  a  while  he  found  him 
self  in  a  sort  of  chamber  under  one  of  the  great  trees, 
and  inside  the  line  of  its  great  twisted  roots.  He 
did  not  know  where  he  was,  however,  but  Sam  or 
Tom  or  Joe  could  have  told  him  all  about  the  place. 
Here  his  journey  seemed  to  be  effectually  in 
terrupted,  and  he  thrust  the  boots,  as  he  supposed, 
into  a  hole,  driving  them  with  some  little  force 


GETTING  EVEN  IN  THE  DARK.  2J 

through  a  tangled  net  work  of  small  roots.  What 
he  really  did  do,  however,  was  to  drive  them 
through  a  net  work  of  small  roots,  between  two 
great  ones,  into  the  outer  air,  at  the  very  spot 
from  which  he  had  taken  them.  When  he  quitted 
his  hold  of  them,  leaving  them,  as  he  supposed, 
buried  in  the  centre  of  a  great  drift  pile,  they  lay 
in  fact  by  Sam's  coat  and  hat,  right  where  they 
had  lain  when  Sam  went  to  sleep. 

Sam  had  silently  observed  him  as  he  entered 
the  drift  pile,  and  running  quickly  to  the  entrance 
he  seized  a  stick  of  timber  and  drew  it  toward 
him  with  all  his  force.  Sam  Hardwicke  had  an 
excellent  habit  of  remembering  not  only  things 
that  were  certainly  useful  to  know,  but  things 
also  which  might  be  useful.  When  Jake  entered 
the  drift  pile,  Sam  remembered  that  during  his 
own  stay  there  a  year  before,  he  had  carefully  ex 
amined  the  great  log  which  formed  the  archway 
of  the  entrance,  and  that  it  was  kept  in  its  place 
only  by  this  single  stick  of  timber  acting  as  a 
wedge.  Pulling  this  out,  therefore,  he  let  the 
farther  end  of  the  great  tree  trunk  fall,  and  com 
pletely  blocked  the  passage  way. 


28  CAPTAIN  SAM. 


CHAPTER  III. 

REVENGE    OF   A    DIFFERENT   SORT. 

O  matter  where  one  begins  to  tell  a  story 
there  is  always  something  back  of  the 
beginning  that  must  be  told  for  the  sake 
of  making  the  matter  clear.  Whatever  you  tell, 
something  else  must  have  happened  before  it  and 
something  else  before  that  and  something  else  be 
fore  that,  so  that  there  is  really  no  end  to  the  be 
ginnings  that  might  be  made.  The  only  way  I 
can  think  of  by  which  a  whole  story  could  be  told 
would  be  to  begin  back  at  Adam  and  Eve  and 
work  on  down  to  the  present  time ;  and  even 
then  the  story  would  not  be  finished  and  nobody 
but  a  prophet  ever  could  finish  it. 

The  only  way  to  tell  a  story  then  is  to  plunge 
into  it  somewhere  as  I  did  two  chapters  back, 
follow  it  until  we  get  hold  of  it,  and  then  go  back 


REVENGE  OF  A  DIFFERENT  SORT.  2g 

and  explain   how  it  came   about  before  <K)ins:  on 

L  O  O 

with  it.  I  must  tell  you  just  now  who  these  boys 
were,  where  they  were  and  how  they  came  to  be 
there.  All  this  must  be  told  sometime  and  when 
ever  it  is  told  somebody  or  something  must  wait 
somewhere,  and  I  really  think  Jake  Elliott  may  as 
well  wait  there  in  the  drift-pile  as  not.  He  de 
serves  nothing  better. 

During  the  summer  of  the  year  1813,  while  the 
United  States  and  great  Britain  were  at  war,  a 
general  Indian  war  came  on  which  raged  with  es 
pecial  violence  in  middle  and  southern  Alabama. 
The  Indians  fought  desperately,  but  General  Jack 
son  managed  to  conquer  them  thoroughly.  He 
was  empowered  by  the  government  to  make  a 
treaty  with  them  and  he  insisted  that  they  should 
make  a  treaty  which  they  could  not  help  keeping. 
He  made  them  give  up  a  large  part  of  their  land, 
and  so  arranged  the  boundaries  as  to  make  the 
Indians  powerless  for  further  harm. 

The  Indians  hesitated  a  long  time  before  they 
would  sign  the  treaty,  but  it  was  Jackson's  way  to 
finish  whatever  he  undertook,  and  not  leave  it  to 
be  done  over  again.  As  the  people  of  the  border 


30  CAPTAIN  ^J/. 

used  to  say,  he  "  left  no  gaps  in  the  fences  behind 
him,"  and  so  he  insisted  upon  the  treaty  and  the 
Indians  at  last  signed  it.  Meantime,  however,  a 
great  many  of  the  Indians,  and  among  them 
several  of  their  most  savage  chiefs  had  escaped  to 
Florida,  which  was  then  Spanish  territory. 

Jackson  remained  at  his  camp  in  southern 
Alabama  through  the  summer  of  1814  bringing 
the  Indians  to  terms.  During  the  summer  it  be- 

O 

came  evident  that  the  British  were  preparing  an 
expedition  against  Mobile  and  New  Orleans,  and 
Jackson  was  placed  in  command  of  the  whole 
southwest,  with  instructions  to  defend  that  part  of 
the  country.  This  was  all  very  well,  and  very 
wise,  too,  for  there  was  no  man  in  the  country  who 
was  fitter  than  he  for  the  kind  of  work  he  was  thus 
called  on  to  do ;  but  there  was  one  very  serious 
obstacle  in  his  w^ay.  He  had  his  commission  ;  he 
had  full  authority  to  conduct  the  campaign  ;  he  had 
everything  in  fact  except  an  army,  and  it  does  not 
require  a  very  shrewd  person  to  guess  that  an  ar 
my  is  a  rather  important  part  of  a  general's  outfit 
for  defending  a  large  territory.  He  called  for  Vol 
unteers  and  accepted  any  kind  that  came.  He 


REVENGE  OF  A  DIFFERENT  SORT.  31 

even  published  a  special  address  to  the  free  ne- 
crroes  within  the  threatened  district  and  asked 

o 

them  to  become  soldiers,  a  thing  that  nobody  had 
ever  thought  of  before. 

The  boys  in  the  southwest  were  strong,  hearty 
fellows,  used  to  the  woods,  accustomed  to  hard 
ship  and  not  afraid  of  danger.  Many  of  them  had 
fought  bravely  during  the  Indian  war,  and  when 
Jackson  called  for  volunteers,  a  good  many  of 
these  boys  joined  him,  some  of  them  being  mere 
lads  just  turning  into  their  teens. 

Sam  Hardwicke,  was  noted  all  through  that 
country  for  several  reasons.  In  the  first  place  he 
was  a  boy  of  very  fine  appearance  and  unusual 
skill  in  all  the  things  which  help  to  make  either  a 
boy  or  a  man  popular  in  a  new  country.  He  was 
a  capital  shot  with  rifle  or  shot-gun ;  he  was  a 
superb  horseman,  a  tireless  walker,  and  an  expert 
in  all  the  arts  of  the  hunter. 

He  was  strong  and  active  of  body,  and  better 
still  he  was  a  boy  of  better  intellect  and  better 
education  than  was  common  in  that  country  at 
that  early  day  when  there  were  few  schools  and 
poor  ones.  His  father  was  a  gentleman  of  wealth 


32  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

and  education,  who  had  removed  to  Alabama  for 
the  sake  of  his  health  a  few  years  before,  bringing 
a  large  library  with  him,  and  he  had  educated  his 
children  very  carefully,  acting  as  their  teacher 
himself.  Sam  was  ready  for  college,  and  but  for 
Jackson's  call  for  troops  he  would  have  been  on 
his  way  to  Virginia,  to  attend  the  old  William 
and  Mary  University  there,  at  the  time  our  story 
begins.  When  it  became  known,  however,  that 
men  were  needed  to  defend  the  country  against 
the  British,  Sam  thought  it  his  duty  to  help,  and 
reluctantly  resolved  to  postpone  the  beginning  of 
his  college  course  for  another  year. 

All  these   things    made    Sam    Hardwicke   a 

o 

special  favorite,  and  persons  a  great  deal  older 
than  he  was,  held  him  in  very  high  regard,  on 
account  of  his  superior  education,  but  more  par 
ticularly  on  account  of  the  real  superiority  which 
was  the  result  of  that  education ;  and  I  want  to 
say,  right  here,  that  the  difference  between  a  man 
or  boy  whose  education  has  been  good  and  one 
who  has  had  very  little  instruction,  is  a  good  deal 
greater  than  many  persons  think.  It  is  a  mistake 
to  suppose  that  the  difference  lies  only  in  what 


REVENGE  OF  A  DIFFERENT  SORT.  ^ 

•j  3 

one  has  learned  and  the  other  has  not.  What 
you  learn  in  school  is  the  smallest  part  of  the 
good  you  get  there.  Half  of  it  is  usually  worth 
less  as  information,  and  much  of  it  is  sure  to  be 
forgotten ;  but  the  work  of  learning  it  is  not 
thrown  away  on  that  account.  In  learning  it  you 
train  and  discipline  and  cultivate  your  mind, 
making  it  grow  both  in  strength  and  in  capacity, 
and  so  the  educated  man  has  really  a  stronger 
and  better  intellect  than  he  ever  would  have  had 
without  education.  Many  persons  suppose, — and 
I  have  known  even  college  professors  who  made 
the  mistake, — that  a  boy's  mind  is  like  a  meal-bag, 
which  will  hold  just  so  much  and  needs  filling. 
They  fill  it  as  they  would  fill  the  meal-bag,  for 
the  sake  of  the  meal  and  without  a  thought  of 
the  bag.  In  fact  a  boy's  mind  is  more  like  the 
boy  himself.  It  will  not  do  to  try  to  make  a  man 
out  of  him  by  stuffing  meat  and  bread  down  his 
throat.  The  meat  and  bread  fill  him  very  quickly, 
but  he  isn't  fully-gro\vn  when  he  is  full.  To 
make  a  man  of  him  we  must  give  him  food  in 
proper  quantities,  and  let  it  help  him  to  grow,  and 
the  things  you  learn  in  school  are  chiefly  valuable 


34  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

as  food  for  the  mind.  Education  makes  the  intel 
lect  grow  as  truly  as  food  makes  the  body  do  so ; 
and  so  I  say  that  Sam  Hardwicke's  superiority  in 
intellect  to  the  boys  and  even  to  most  of  the  men 
about  him,  consisted  of  something  more  than 
merely  a  larger  stock  of  information.  He  was 
intellectually  larger  than  they,  and  if  any  boy 
who  reads  this  book  supposes  that  a  well-trained 
intellect  is  of  no  account  in  the  practical  affairs 
of  life,  it  is  time  for  him  to  becfin  correcting  some 

o  o 

very  dangerous  notions. 

To  get  back  to  the  story,  I  must  stop  moraliz 
ing  and  say  that  when  Sam  made  up  his  mind  to 
volunteer,  a  number  of  boys  in  the  neighborhood 
determined  to  follow  his  example,  and,  as  Sam 
has  already  explained,  the  little  company  was 
organized,  under  Sam's  command  as  captain.  Of 
course  Sam  had  no  real  military  authority,  and 
he  did  not  for  a  moment  suppose  that  his  little 
band  of  boys  would  be  recognized  as  a  company 
or  he  as  a  captain,  on  their  arrival  at  Camp  Jack 
son;  but  they  had  agreed  to  march  under  Sam's 
command,  and  he  knew  how  to  exercise  au 
thority,  even  when  it  was  held  by  so  loose  a 


REVENGE  OF  A  DIFFERENT  SORT.  35 

tenure  as  that  of  mere  agreement  among  a  lot  of 
boys. 

We  now  come  back  to  the  drift-pile.  When 
Jake  had  carefully  hidden  Sam's  boots,  as  he  sup 
posed,  deep  within  the  recesses  of  the  great  pile 
of  logs  and  brush  and  roots,  he  began  groping  his 
way  back  toward  the  entrance.  It  was  pitch  dark 
of  course,  but  by  walking  slowly  and  feeling  his 
way  carefully,  he  managed  to  follow  the  passage 
way.  Just  as  he  began  to  think  that  he  must  be 
pretty  nearly  out  of  the  den,  however,  he  came 
suddenly  upon  an  obstruction.  Feeling  about 
carefully  he  found  that  the  passage  in  which  he 
stood  had  come  to  an  abrupt  termination.  We 
know,  of  course  what  had  happened,  but  Jake  did 
not.  He  had  come  to  the  end  of  the  log  which 
Sam  had  thrown  down  to  stop  up  the  passage 
way,  and  there  was  really  no  way  for  him  to  go. 
He  supposed,  of  course,  that  he  had  somehow 
wandered  out  of  his  way,  leaving  the  main  alley 
and  following  a  side  one  to  its  end.  He  therefore 
retraced  his  steps,  feeling,  as  he  went,  for  an  open 
ing  upon  one  side  or  the  other.  He  found  sev 
eral,  but  none  of  them  did  him  any  good.  Fol- 


36  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

lowing  each  a  little  way  he  came  to  its  end  in  the 
matted  logs,  and  had  to  try  again.  Presently  he 
began  to  get  nervous  and  frightened.  He  im 
agined  all  sorts  of  things  and  so  lost  his  presence 
of  mind  that  he  forgot  the  outer  appearance  and 
size  of  the  drift  pile,  and  frightened  himself  still 
further  by  imagining  that  it  must  extend  for 
miles  in  every  direction,  and  that  he  might  be 
hopelessly  lost  within  its  dark  mazes.  When  he 
became  frightened,  he  hurried  his  footsteps,  as 
nervous  people  always  do,  and  the  result  was  that 
he  blacked  one  of  his.  eyes  very  badly  by  running 
against  a  projecting  piece  of  timber.  He  was 
weary  as  well  as  frightened,  but  he  dared  not  give 
up  his  effort  to  get  out.  Hour  after  hour — and 
the  hours  seemed  weeks  to  him, — he  wandered 
back  and  forth,  afraid  to  call  for  assistance,  and 
afraid  above  everything  else  that  morning  would 
come  and  that  he  would  be  forced  to  remain  there 
in  the  drift  pile  while  the  boys  marched  away,  or 
to  call  aloud  for  assistance  and  be  caught  in  his 
own  meanness  without  the  power  to  deny  it.  Fi 
nally  morning  broke,  and  he  could  hear  the  boys 
as  they  began  preparing  for  breakfast.  It  was 


REVENGE  OF  A  DIFFERENT  SORT.  37 

his  morning,  according  to  agreement,  to  cut  wood 
for  the  fire  and  bring  water,  and  so  a  search  was 
made  for  him  at  once.  He  heard  several  of  the 
boys  calling  at  the  top  of  their  lungs. 

"  Jake  Elliott !  Jake !  Ja-a-a-ke ! ! "  He  knew 
then  that  his  time  had  come. 

What  had  Sam  been  doing  all  this  time  ? 
Sleeping,  I  believe,  for  the  most  part,  but  he  had 
not  gone  to  sleep  without  making  up  his  mind 
precisely  what  course  to  pursue.  When  he  threw 
the  log  down,  he  meant  merely  to  shut  Jake  Elliott 
and  his  own  boots  up  for  safe  keeping,  and  it  was 
his  purpose,  when  morning  should  come,  to 
"  have  it  out  "  with  the  boot  thief,  in  one  way  or 
another,  as  circumstances,  and  Jake's  temper  after 
his  night's  adventure,  might  determine. 

He  walked  back,  therefore,  to  his  place  of  rest, 
after  he  had  blocked  up  the  entrance  of  the  drift- 
pile,  and  threw  himself  down  again  under  the  bush 
es.  Ten  or  fifteen  minutes  later  he  heard  a  slight 
noise  at  the  root  of  the  great  tree  near  him,  and, 
looking,  saw  something  which  looked  surprisingly 
like  a  pair  of  boots,  trying  to  forc^e  themselves  out 
between  two  of  the  exposed  roots.  Then  he  heard 


38  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

retreating  footsteps  within  the  space  enclosed  by 
the  circle  of  roots,  and  began  to  suspect  the  pre 
cise  state  of  affairs.  Examining  the  boots  he  dis 
covered  that  they  were  his  own,  and  he  quickly 
guessed  the  truth  that  Jake  had  pushed  them  out 
from  the  inside,  under  the  impression  that  he  was 
driving  them  into  a  hole  in  the  centre  of  the  tangled 
drift 

Sam  was  a  brave  boy,  too  brave  to  be  vindic 
tive,  and  so  he  quickly  decided  that  as  he  had  re 
covered  his  boots  he  would  subject  his  enemy  only 
to  so  much  punishment  as  he  thought  was  neces 
sary  to  secure  his  good  behavior  afterward.  He 
knew  that  the  boys  would  torment  Jake  unmerci 
fully  if  the  true  story  of  the  night's  exploits  should 
become  known  to  them,  and  while  he  knew  that 
the  culprit  deserved  the  severest  lesson,  he  was  too 
magnanimous  to  subject  him  to  so  sore  a  trial. 
He  went  to  sleep,  therefore,  resolved  to  release  his 
enemy  quietly  in  the  morning,  before  the  other 
boys  should  be  astir.  Unluckily  he  overslept  him 
self,  and  so  the  first  hint  of  the  dawn  he  received 
was  from  the  loud  calling  of  the  boys  for  Jake  El 
liott.  Fortunately  Jake  had  not  yet  nerved  himself 


REVENGE  OF  A  DIFFERENT  SORT.  39 

up  to  the  point  of  answering  and  calling  for  as 
sistance,  and  so  Sam  had  still  a  chance  to  execute 
his  plan. 

"  Never  mind  calling  Jake,"  he  cried,  as  he  rose 
from  his  couch  of  bushes,  "  but  run  down  to  the 
spring  and  bring  some  water.  I  have  Jake  engaged 
elsewhere." 

The  boys  suspected  at  once  that  Sam  and  Jake 
had  arranged  a  private  battle  to  be  fought  some 
where  in  the  woods  beyond  camp  lines,  a  battle 
with  fists  for  the  mastery,  and  they  were  strongly 
disposed  to  follow  their  captain  as  he  started  up  the 
river. 

"  Stop,"  cried  Sam.  "  I  have  business  with 
Jake,  which  \vill  not  interest  you.  Besides,  I  think 
it  best  that  you  shall  remain  here.  Go  to  the 
spring,  as  I  tell  you,  and  then  go  back  to  the  fire, 
and  get  breakfast.  Jake  and  I  will  be  there  in  time 
to  help  you  eat  it.  If  one  of  you  follows  me  a  foot 
of  the  way,  I — never  mind ;  I  tell  you  you  must 
not  follow  me,  and  you  shall  not." 

There  were  some  symptoms  of  a  turbulent,  but 
good-natured  revolt,  but  Sam's  earnestness  quieted 
it,  and  the  boys  reluctantly  drew  back. 


40  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

Passing  around  to  the  further  side  of  the  drift 
pile,  more  than  a  hundred  yards  away  from  the 
nearest  point  of  the  camp,  Sam  called  in  a  low 
tone : — 

"  Jake !  Jake !  " 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  Jake  presently,  trembling 
in  voice  as  he  trembled  in  limb,  for  he  was  now 
thoroughly  broken  and  frightened.  He  dreaded 
the  meeting  with  Sam  nearly  as  much  as  he  dread 
ed  the  terrible  fate  which  seemed  to  him  the  only 
alternative,  namely,  that  of  remaining  in  the  drift- 
pile  to  starve. 

"  Come  down  this  way,"  said  Sam. 

"  Well,"  answered  Jake  when  he  had  moved  a 
little  way  toward  Sam. 

"  Do  you  see  a  hole  in  the  top,  just  above  your 
.head?"  asked  Sam. 

"  Yes,  but  I  can't  see  the  sky  through  it." 

"  Never  mind,  get  a  stick  to  boost  you,  and 
climb  up  into  it." 

Jake  did  as  he  was  told  to  do,  and  upon  climb 
ing  up  found  that  there  was  a  sort  of  passage  way 
running  laterally  through  the  upper  part  of  the 
timber,  crooked  and  so  narrow  that  he  could  scarce- 


REVENGE  OF  A  DIFFERENT  SORT.  41 

ly  force  his  way  through  it.  Whither  it  led,  he 
had  no  idea,  but  he  obeyed  Sam's  injunction  to 
follow  it,  though  he  did  so  with  great  difficulty,  as 
in  many  places  sticks  were  in  the  way,  which  it 
required  his  utmost  strength  to  remove.  The  pas 
sage  through  which  he  was  crawling  so  painfully, 
was  one  which  Sam  and  his  companions  had  made 
by  dint  of  great  labor,  during  their  residence  in 
the  tree  root  cavern  a  year  before.  It  led  from  the 
main  alley  way  to  their  post  of  observation  on  top 
of  the  pile,  their  look-out,  from  which  they  had 
been  accustomed  to  examine  the  country  around, 
to  see  if  there  were  Indians  about,  when  they  had 
occasion  to  expose  themselves  outside  of  their 
place  of  refuge.  As  the  only  way  into  this  passage 
was  through  a  "  blind  "  hole  in  the  roof  of  the 
main  alley  way,  no  one  would  ever  have  suspected 
its  existence. 

After  awhile  Jake's  head  emerged  from  the 
very  top  of  the  drift  pile,  and  he  saw  Sam  lying  flat 
down,  just  before  him.  He  instinctively  shrank  back. 

"  Come  on,"  said  Sam  ;  "  but  don't  rise  up  or 
the  boys  will  see  us.  Crawl  out  of  the  hole  and 
then  follow  me  on  your  hands  and  knees." 


42  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

Jake  obeyed,  and  the  two  presently  jumped 
down  to  the  ground  on  the  side  of  the  hummock 
furthest  from  camp. 

Jake's  first  glance  revealed  Sam  fully  dressed, 
and  standing  firmly  in  his  boots.  There  could  be 
no  mistake  about  it,  and  yet  a  moment  before  he 
would  have  made  oath  that  those  very  boots  were 
hidden  hopelessly  within  the  deepest  recesses  of 
the  drift-pile.  He  could  not  restrain  the  exclam- 
mation  which  rose  to  his  lips : — 

"  Where  DID  you  get  them  boots  ?  " 

"  Never  mind  where,  or  how.  I  have  a  word 
or  two  to  say  to  you.  You  took  my  boots  and 
were  on  the  point  of  throwing  them  into  the  river. 
If  you  think  such  an  act  by  way  of  revenge  was 
manly  and  worthy  of  a  soldier,  I  will  not  dispute 
the  point.  You  must  determine  that  for  yourself." 

"  Let  me  tell  you  about  it,  Sam,"  began  Jake 
in  an  apologetic  voice. 

"  No,  it  isn't  necessary,"  replied  Sam.  "  I  know 
all  about  it,  and  it  will  not  help  the  matter  to  lie 
about  it.  Listen  to  me.  You  were  about  to  throw 
the  boots  into  the  river ;  but  you  changed  your 
mind.  You  know  why,  of  course,  while  I  can 


REVENGE  OF  A  DIFFERENT  SORT.  43 

only  guess  ;  but  it  doesn't  matter.  You  took  them 
into  the  drift  pile  and  put  them  into  a  hole  there. 
The  next  thing  you  know  of  them  I  have  them  on 
my  feet,  and  I  assure  you  I  haven't  been  inside 
the  drift  pile  since  you  entered  it.  Solve  that 
riddle  in  any  way  you  choose.  I  blocked  up 
the  entrance,  and  this  morning  I  have  let  you 
out.  Not  one  of  the  boys  knows  anything 
about  this  affair,  and  not  one  of  them  shall 
know,  unless  you  choose  to  tell  them,  which  you 
wont,  of  course.  Now  come  on  to  camp  and  get 
ready  for  breakfast." 

With  that  Sam  led  the  way.     Presently  Jake 
halted. 

"  Sam,"  he  said. 

"  Well." 

"  My  eye's   all  bunged  up.     What'll  the  boys 
say  ? " 

"  I  don't  know." 

"  What  must  I  tell  'em  ? " 
>       "  Anything  you  choose.     It  is  not  my  affair." 

"  They'll  think  you've  whipped  me  ?  "  exclaim 
ed  Jake  in  alarm. 

"  Well,  I  have,  haven't  I  ?  " 


44  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  No,  we  hain't  fit  at  all." 

"Yes  we  have, — not  with  our  fists,  but  with 
our  characters,  and  I  have  whipped  you  fairly. 
Never  mind  that.  You  can  say  you  did  it  by 
accident  in  the  dark,  which  will  be  true." 

"  But  Sam  !  "  said  Jake,  again  halting. 

"  Well,  what  is  it  now  ?  " 

"  What  made  you  let  me  out  an'  keep  the 
secret  from  the  boys  ? " 

"  Because  I  thought  it  would  be  mean,  unman 
ly  and  wrong  in  me  to  take  such  a  revenge." 

"  Is  that  the  only  reason  ?  " 

"  Yes,  that  is  the  only  reason." 

"  You  didn't  do  it  'cause  you  was  afraid  ?  "  he 
asked,  incredulously. 

"  No,  of  course  not.  I'm  not  in  the  least 
afraid  of  you,  Jake." 

"  Why  not?  I'm  bigger'n  you." 

"  Yes,  but  you're  an  awful  coward,  Jake,  and 
nobody  knows  it  better  than  I  do,  except  you. 
You  wouldn't  dare  to  lay  a  finger  on  me.  I  could 
make  you  lie  down  before  me  and — Pshaw!  you 
know  you're  a  coward  and  that's  enough  about 
it." 


REVENGE  OF  A  DIFFERENT  SORT.  45 

"  Why  didn't  you  leave  me  for  the  boys  to 
find,  then,  and  tell  the  whole  story  ?  " 

"  Because  I'm  not  a  coward  or  a  sneak.  I've 
told  you  once,  but  of  course  you  can't  understand 
it ;  come  along.  I'm  hungry.  " 


46  CAPTAIN  SAM. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

A     CERTIFICATE     OF     CHARACTER. 

HREE  or  four  days  after  the  morning 
of  Jake    Elliott's  release,   Sam  led   his 
little  company  into  Camp  Jackson  and 
reported  their  arrival. 

As  Sam  had  anticipated,  General  Jackson 
decided  at  once  that  the  boys  could  become  use 
ful  to  him  only  by  volunteering  in  some  of  the 
companies  already  organized,  and  Sam  began 
to  look  about  for  a  company  in  which  he  and 
Tom  would  be  acceptable.  The  other  boys  were 
of  course  free  to  choose  for  themselves,  and  Sam 
declined  to  act  for  them  in  the  matter.  As  for 
Joe  the  black  boy,  he  knew  how  to  make  himself 
useful  in  any  command,  as  a  servant,  and  he  was 
resolved  to  follow  Sam's  fortunes,  wherever  they 
mi^ht  lead. 

O 


A  CERTIFICATE  OF  CHARACTER.  47 

"  You  see  Mas'  Sam,"  he  said,  "  you'n  Mas' 
Tommy  might  git  yer  selves  into  some  sort  o' 
scrape  or  udder,  an'  then  yer's  sho'  to  need  Joe  to 
git  you  out.  Didn't  Joe  git  you  out  'n  dat  ar  fix 
dar  in  de  drifpile  more'n  a  yeah  ago  ?  Howsom- 
ever,  'taint  becomin'  to  talk  'bout  dat,  'cause  your 
fathah  he  dun  pay  me  fer  dat  dar  job,  he  is.  But 
you'll  need  Joe  any  how,  an'  wha  you  goes  Joe 
goes,  an'  dey  aint  no  gettin  roun'  dat  ar  fac,  no 
how  yer  kin  fix  it." 

On  the  very  morning  of  Sam's  arrival,  as  he 
was  beodnnin^  his  search  for  a  suitable  command  in 

o  o 

which  to  enlist,  he  met  Tandy  Walker,  the  cele 
brated  guide  and  scout,  whose  memory  is  still 
fondly  cherished  in  the  southwest  for  his  courage, 
his  skill  and  his  tireless  perseverance.  Tandy  was 
now  limping  along  on  a  rude  crutch,  with  one  of 
his  feet  bandaged  up. 

Sam  greeted  him  heartily  and  asked,  of  course, 
about  his  hurt,  which  Tandy  explained  as  the 
result  of "  a  wrestle  he  had  had  with  an  axe,"  mean 
ing  that  he  had  cut  his  foot  in  chopping  wood.  He 
tarried  but  a  moment  with  Sam,  excusing  himself 
for  his  hurried  departure  on  the  ground  that  he  had 


48  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

been  sent  for  by  General  Jackson.  Having  heard 
Sam's  story  and  plans  Tandy  limped  on,  and  was 
soon  ushered  into  Jackson's  inner  apartment. 

When  the  general  saw  him  he  exclaimed — 

"  What,  you're  not  on  the  sick  list  are  you, 
Walker?" 

"  Well  no,  not  adzac'ly,  giner'l,  but  I  ain't  ad- 
zac'ly  a  walker  now,  fur  all  that's  my  name." 

"  What's  the  matter  ?  "  asked  Jackson. 

"  Nothin,'  only  I've  dun  split  my  foot  open 
with  a  axe,  giner'l." 

"  That  is  very  unfortunate,",  replied  Jackson, 
"  very  unfortunate,  indeed." 

"Yes,  it  aint  adzac'ly  what  you  might  call 
hicky,  giner'l." 

"  It  certainly  isn't !  "  said  Jackson,  a  smile  for 
a  moment  taking  the  place  of  the  look  of  vexation 
which  his  face  wore ;  "  and  it  isn't  lucky  for  me 
either,  for  I  need  you  just  now." 

"  I'm  sorry,  giner'l,  if  ther's  any  work  to  be 
done  in  my  line,  but  it  can't  be  helped,  you  know." 

"  Of  course  not.  The  fact  is  Tandy,  I  want 
something  clone  that  I  can't  easily  find  any  body 
else  to  do.  I'm  satisfied  now  that  the  British  are 


A  CERTIFICATE  OF  CHARACTER.  49 

at  Pensacola  and  are  arming  Indians  there,  and 
that  the  treacherous  Spanish  governor  is  harbor 
ing  them  on  his  neutral  territory.  I  have  proof 
of  that  now.  Look  at  that  rifle  there.  That's  one 
of  the  guns  they  have  given  out  to  Indians,  and 
a  friendly  Indian  brought  it  to  me  this  morning. 
But  you  know  the  Indians,  Walker ;  I  can't  get 
anything  definite  out  of  them.  I  must  find  out  all 
about  this  affair,  and  you're  the  only  man  I  could 
trust  with  the  task." 

"  I  b'lieve  that's  jist  about  the  way  the  land 
lays,  giner'l,"  replied  Tandy,  "but  I'll  tell  you 
what  it  is ;  if  ther'  aint  a  man  here  you  kin  tie  to 
fur  that  sort  o'  work,  ther's  a  purty  well  grown 
boy  that'll  do  it  up  for  you  equal  to  me  or  anybody 
else,  or  my  name  aint  Tandy  Walker,  and  that's 
what  the  old  woman  at  home  calls  me." 

A  little  further  conversation  revealed  the  fact 
that  the  boy  alluded  to  was  none  other  than  our 
friend  Sam  Hardwicke.  General  Jackson  hesitated, 
expressing  some  doubts  of  Sam's  qualifications  for 
so  delicate  a  task.  He  feared  that  so  young  a 
person  might  lack  the  coolness  and  discretion  ne 
cessary,  and  said  so.  To  all  of  this  Tandy  replied  : — 


50  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  You'd  trust  the  job  to  me,  if  I  could  walk, 
wouldn't  you,  giner'l  ?  " 

"  Certainly ;  no  other  man  would  be  half  so 
good." 

"  Well  then,  giner'l,  lem  me  tell  you,  that 
Sam  Hardwicke  is  Tandy  Walker,  spun  harder  an' 
finer,  made  out'n  better  wool,  doubled  an'  twisted, 
and  mighty  keerfulhj  waxed  into  the  bargain.  He's 
a  smart  one,  if  there  ever  was  one.  He's  edicated 
too,  an'  knows  books  like  a  school  teacher.  He's 
the  sharpest  feller  in  the  woods  I  ever  seed,  an' 
he's  got  jist  a  little  the  keenest  scent  for  the  right 
thing  to  do  in  a  tight  place  that  you  ever  seed  in 
man  or  boy.  Better'n  all,  he  never  loses  that  cool 
head  o'  his'n  no  matter  what  happens." 

"  That  is  a  hearty  recommendation,  certainly," 
said  the  general.  "Suppose  you  send  young 
Hardwicke  to  me ;  of  course  nothing  must  be  said 
of  all  this." 

"  Certainly  giner'l.  Nobody  ever  gits  any  news 
out'n  my  talk."  And  with  that  Tandy  made  his 
awkward  bow,  his  awkwarder  salute,  and  limped 
away. 


SAM  LA  YS  HIS  PLANS. 


CHAPTER  V. 

SAM    LAYS    HIS    PLANS. 

ALF  an  hour  later  Sam  Hardwicke  enter 
ed  General  Jackson's  private  office,  and 
was  received  with   some  little  surprise 
upon  the  commander's  part. 

"  Why,  you're  the  young  man  who  reported  in 
command  of  some  young  recruits,  are  you  not  ? ' 
he  asked. 

Sam  replied  that  he  was. 
"  I  didn't  understand  it  so,"  replied  Jackson, 
"  when  Walker  recommended  you  for  this  ser 
vice.  However,  it  is  all  the  better  so,  because  / 
know  your  devotion,  and  Tandy  has  assured  me 
of  your  competence.  Sit  down,  our  talk  is  likely 
to  be  a  long  one." 

When  Sam  was  comfortably  seated,  with  his 


52  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

hat  "  hung  up  on  the  floor,"  as  Tandy  Walker 
would  have  said,  the  general  resumed. 

"  You  understand  of  course,"  he  said,  "  that 
\vhatever  I  say  to  you,  must  be  kept  a  profound 
secret,  now  and  hereafter,  whether  you  go  on  the 
expedition  I  have  in  mind  or  not." 

"  You  may  depend  upon  my  discretion,  sir.  I 
think  I  know  how  to  be  silent." 

"  Do  you  ?  Then  you  have  learned  a  good  les 
son  well.  Take  care  that  you  never  forget  it.  Let 
me  tell  you  in  the  outset  that  the  task  I  want  you 
to  undertake  is  a  difficult  and  perhaps  a  dangerous 
one.  It  will  require  patience,  pluck,  intelligence 
and  tact.  Tandy  Walker  tells  me  that  you  have 
these  qualities,  and  he  ought  to  know,  perhaps, 
but  I  shall  find  out  for  myself  before  we  have  done 
talking.  I  shall  tell  you  what  the  circumstances 
are  and  what  I  wish  to  have  done.  Then  you  must 
decide  whether  or  not  you  wish  to  undertake  it ; 
and  if  you  do,  you  must  take  what  time  you  wish 
for  consideration,  and  then  tell  me  what  your 
plans  are  for  its  accomplishment.  I  shall  then  be 
able  to  judge  whether  or  not  you  are  likely  to  suc 
ceed.  You  understand  me  of  course  ?  " 


SAM  LA  YS  HIS  PLANS.  53 

"  Perfectly,  I  think,"'  replied  Sam. 

"  Very  well  then.  You  know  that  a  good 
many  of  the  worst  of  these  Creeks  escaped  to  Flor 
ida,  Peter  McQueen  among  them.  I  could  not 
pursue  them  beyond  the  border,  because  Florida 
is  Spanish  territory,  and  Spain  is,  or  at  least  pro 
fesses  to  be,  friendly  to  the  United  States,  and 
neutral  in  our  war  with  the  British.  Now,  how 
ever,  I  have  good  authority  for  believing  that  the 
Spanish  Governor  at  Pensacola  is  treacherously 
aiding  not  only  the  Indians  but  the  British  also. 
A  force  of  British,  I  hear,  has  landed  there,  and 
friendly  Indians  tell  me  that  they  are  arming  the 
runaway  Creeks,  meaning  to  use  them  against  us. 
The  Indians  tell  bi^  stories,  so  bis:  that  I  can 

o  o 

place  no  reliance  upon  them,  and  what  I  want  is 
accurate  information  about  affairs  at  Pensacola. 
If  there  is  a  British  force  there,  it  means  to  make 
an  attack  on  Mobile  or  New  Orleans.  I  must  know 
the  exact  facts,  whatever  they  are,  so  that  I  may 
take  proper  precautions.  I  must  know  the  size  of 
the  force,  the  number  of  their  ships,  and  on  what 
terms  they  have  been  received  by  the  Spaniards. 
If  they  are  made  welcome  at  Pensacola,  and  per- 


54  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

mitted  by  the  Spaniards  to  make  that  a  conven 
ient  base  of  operations  against  us,  the  goverment 
may  see  fit  to  authorize  me  to  break  up  the  hor 
net's  nest  before  the  swarm  s^ets  too  bi^  to  be 

o  O 

handled  safely.  However,  that  is  another  matter. 
What  I  want  is  positive  information  of  the  exact 
facts,  whatever  they  are.  The  difficulties  in  the 
way  are  great.  We  are  at  peace  with  Spain,  and 
must  do  no  hostile  act  upon  her  soil.  I  cannot 
even  send  an  armed  scouting  party  to  get  the  in 
formation  I  need.  If  you  go,  you  must  go  un 
armed,  and  even  then  you  may  be  arrested  and 
dealt  hardly  with.  It  will  require  the  utmost  dis 
cretion  as  well  as  courage,  to  accomplish  the  task, 
and  I  have  no  wish  that  you  should  undertake  it 
if  you  hesitate  to  do  so." 

"  I  do  not  hesitate,  sir,"  replied  Sam,  "  if,  after 
hearing  my  plan,  you  think  me  competent  for  the 
business." 

"  Very  well  then,"  replied  the  general,  "  when 
will  you  be  ready  to  lay  your  plan  before  me  ?  " 

"  I  am  ready  now,  sir,"  said  Sam,  "  so  far  at  least 
as  the  general  plan  is  concerned ;  little  things  will 
have  to  be  dealt  with  as  they  arise." 


SA M  LA  YS  HIS  PLANS.  5  5 

"  Certainly.  What  is  your  plan  in  outline  ?  " 
"  To  go  to  Florida  on  a  trapping  and  fishing 
excursion.  I  am  not  a  soldier  yet,  and  may  go,  if 
I  like,  peacefully  into  the  territory  of  a  friendly 
nation.  I  can  take  some  of  my  boys  with  me, 
and  camp  by  the  water  side.  I  can  easily  go  into 
Pensacola  and  find  out  what  is  going  on  there.  I 
shouldn't  wish  to  be  a  spy,  general,  but  this  is 
scarcely  that,  I  think.  The  enemy  has  been  re 
ceived  by  a  power  professing  to  be  friendly. 
That  power  has  given  us  no  notice  of  hostility, 
and  until  that  is  done  I  see  no  impropriety  in  go 
ing  into  his  territory  for  information  not  about  his 
affairs  at  all,  unless  he  is  proving  treacherous, 
which  wTould  entitle  us  to  do  that,  but  about 
those  of  our  enemy,  whom  he  should  regard  as 
an  invader,  however  he  may  regard  him  in 
fact." 

"  You've  read  some  law,  I  see,"  said  the  general. 
"  No  sir,"  replied  Sam,  blushing  to  think  how 
he  had  been  expounding  to  the  general,  a  nice 
point  which  that  officer  must  understand  much 
better  than  he  did.  "  No  sir,  I  have  read  no  law 
except  a  book  or  two  on  the  laws  of  nations, 


56  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

which  my  father  said  every  gentleman  should  be 
familiar  with." 

"  A  very  wise  and  excellent  father  he  must  be," 
replied  Jackson,  "  if  I  may  judge  of  him  by  the 
training  he  has  given  his  son." 

"  Thank  you,  sir,  in  his  name,"  answered  Sam, 
rising  and  making  his  best  bow. 

"  To  come  back  to  the  business  in  hand,"  re 
sumed  Jackson.  "  You'll  need  a  boat  and  some 
camp  equipments." 

"  A  boat,  yes,  but  as  for  camp  equipments,  I 
can  make  out  without  them  very  well.  I've 
camped  a  good  deal  and  I  know  how  to  manage." 

"  Very  well,  then,  you'll  be  all  the  lighter. 
How  many  of  your  boys  will  you  need? " 

"  Two  or  three, — partly  to  make  a  show  of  a 
camp,  but  more  because  it  may  be  necessary  to 
send  some  of  them  back  with  news.  My  brother 
Tom  and  my  black  boy,  with  one  or  two  others 
will  be  enough." 

"  Very  well.  Now  you  must  be  off  as  soon  as 
possible.  I  shall  march  to  Mobile  in  a  clay  or 
two,  and  organize  for  defence  there.  Send  your 
news  there.  You  had  better  march  clirectlv  from 


SAM  LA  YS  HIS  PLANS.  5  7 

this  place,  so  that  your  arrival  will  excite  no  sus 
picion.  I  will  provide  you  with  a  map  of  the 
country.  Have  you  a  compass  ?  " 

"  Yes  sir,  I  brought  one  with  me  from  home." 
"  There  are  boats  enough  to  be  had  amon^  the 

o  <_> 

fishermen,  I  suppose,  but  how  to  provide  you  with 
one  is  the  most  serious  problem  I  have  to  solve  in 
this  matter.  My  army  chest  is  empty,  and  my  per 
sonal  purse  is  equally  so." 

"  I  can  manage  all  that,  sir,  if  I  may  take  an  axe 
or  two  and  an  adze  from  the  shop  here." 

"  How  ?  " 

"  By  digging  out  a  canoe.  I've  done  it  before, 
and  know  how  to  handle  the  tools." 

"  You  certainly  do  not  lack  the  sort  of  re 
sources  which  a  commander  needs  in  such  a 
country  as  this,  where  he  must  first  create  his 
army  and  then  arm  and  feed  it  without  money. 
You'll  make  a  general  yet,  I  fancy." 

"  At  present  I  am  not  even  a  private,"  replied 
Sam,  "  though  the  boys  call  me  Captain  Sam." 

"  Do  they  ?  Then  Captain  Sam  it  shall  be,  and 
I  wish  you  a  successful  campaign  before  Pensacola, 
Captain.  Get  your  forces  into  marching  order  at 


58  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

once.  Take  all  of  your  boys,  unless  some  of  them 
have  already  enlisted, — it  won't  do  to  take  actual 
soldiers  with  you,  as  your's  must  be  a  citizen's 
camp, — and  march  as  early  as  you  can.  I'll  see 
that  you  are  properly  provided  with  the  tools  you 
need." 


CAPTAIN  SAM  BEGINS  HIS  MARCH. 


59 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CAPTAIN    SAM    BEGINS    HIS    MARCH. 

T  noon  the  next  clay  Sam  marched  away 
from  the  camp  at  the  head  of  his  little 
company,  reduced  now  to  precisely  six 
boys  in  all,  counting  the  colored  boy  Joe,  but  not 
counting  Captain  Sam  himself.  Jake  Elliott  was 
one  of  the  company,  rather  against  Sam's  wish, 
but  he  had  begged  for  permission  to  go,  and  Sam 
thought  his  size  and  strength  might  be  of  use  in 
some  emergency.  Tommy  was  of  the  party  of 
course,  and  the  other  boys  were  Billy  Bunker — 
called  Billy  Bow-legs  by  the  boys,  because  he  was 
not  bow-legged  at  all  but  on  the  contrary  badly 
knock-kneed, — Bob  Sharp,  a  boy  of  about  Tom 
my's  size  and  age,  and  Sidney  Russell,  a  boy  of 
thirteen,  who  had  "  r  n  to  legs,"  his  companions 
said,  and  was  already  nearly  six  feet  high,  and  so 


60  CAPTAIX  SAM. 

slender  that,  notwithstanding  his  extreme  height, 
he  was  the  lightest  boy  in  the  company.  The 
rest  of  the  party  had  already  enlisted  and  could 
not  go. 

The  outfit  was  complete,  after  Sam's  notions 
of  completeness ;  that  is  to  say,  it  included  every 
thing  which  was  absolutely  necessary  and  not  an 
ounce  of  anything  that  could  be  safely  spared. 
For  tools  they  had  two  axes,  with  rather  short 
handles,  a  small  hatchet,  a  pocket  rule  and  an 
adze ;  to  this  list  might  be  added  their  large 
pocket  knives,  which  every  man  and  boy  on  the 
frontier  carries  habitually.  For  camp  utensils 
each  boy  had  a  tin  cup  and  that  was  all,  except  a 
single  light  skillet,  which  they  were  to  carry  alter 
nately,  as  they  were  to  do  with  the  tools.  Each 
boy  carried  a  blanket  tightly  rolled  up,  and  each 
had,  at  the  start,  eight  pounds  of  corn  meal  and 
four  pounds  of  bacon,  with  a  small  sack  of  salt 
each,  which  could  be  carried  in  any  pocket.  This 
was  all.  They  had  no  arms  and  no  ammuni 
tion. 

Their   destination   and  the   purpose  of  their 
journey  were  wholly  unknown  to  anybody   in  the 


CAPTAIN  SAM  BEGINS  HIS  MARCH.  6 1 

camp,  except  General  Jackson  and  Tandy  Walker. 
The  boys  themselves  were  as  ignorant  as  anybody 
on  this  subject.  Sam  had  enlisted  them  in  the 
service,  merely  telling  them  that  he  was  going  on 
an  expedition  which  might  prove  difficult,  danger 
ous  and  full  of  hardship.  He  told  them  that  he 
could  not  make  them  legal  soldiers  before  leaving, 
but  that  implicit  obedience  was  absolutely  neces 
sary,  and  that  he  wanted  no  boy  to  go  with  him 
who  was  not  willing  to  trust  his  judgment  abso 
lutely  and  obey  orders  as  a  soldier  does,  without 
knowing  why  they  are  given  or  what  they  are 
meant  to  accomplish.  To  put  this  matter  on  a 
proper  basis,  he  drew  up  an  enlistment  paper  as 
follows : — 

"  We,  whose  names  are  signed  below,  volun 
teer  to  go  with  Samuel.  Hardwicke  and  under  his 
command,  on  the  expedition  which  he  is  about 
beginning.  We  have  been  duly  wrarned  of  the 
dangers  and  hardships  to  be  encountered ;  we 
freely  undertake  to  endure  the  hardships  without 
shrinking,  and  to  face  the  dangers  as  soldiers 
should;  and,  understanding  the  necessity  of  dis 
cipline  and  obedience,  we  promise,  each  of  us  upon 


62 


CAPTAIN  SAM. 


his  honor,  fully  to  recognize  the  authority  of  Sam 
uel  Hardwicke  as  our  Captain,  appointed  by 
General  Jackson  ;  we  promise  upon  honor,  to  obey 
his  command,  as  implicity  as  if  we  were  regularly 
enlisted  soldiers,  and  he  a  properly  commissioned 
officer. 

(Signed.) 


When  this  paper  was  signed  by  all  the  boys,  in 
cluding  black  Joe,  who  insisted  upon  attaching  his 


CAPTAIN  SAM  BEGINS  HIS  MARCH. 


name  to  it  in  the  printing  letters  which  "  little 
Miss  Judie "  had  taught  him,  it  was  placed  in 
General  Jackson's  hands  for  keeping,  and  Sam 
marched  his  party  away,  amid  the  wondering 
curiosity  of  the  few  troops  who  were  in  camp. 
They  knew  that  this  party  went  out  under  orders 
of  some  sort  from  head  quarters,  but  they  could 
not  imagine  whither  it  was  going  or  why.  Many 
of  them  had  tried  to  get  information  from  the  boys 
themselves,  but  as  the  boys  knew  absolutely  noth 
ing  about  it,  they  could  answer  no  questions, 
except  with  the  rather  unsatisfactory  formula  "  I 
dunno." 


64  CAPTAIN  SAM. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

SAM'S   TRAVELLING  FACTORY. 

HE  boys  marched  "steadily  until  sunset, 
when  Sam  called  a  halt  and  selected  a 
camping  place  for  the  night.  He  ordered 
a  fire  built  and  himself  superintended  the  prepar 
ation  of  supper,  limiting  the  amount  of  food  cook 
ed  for  each  member  of  the  party,  a  regulation 
which  he  enforced  strictly  throughout  the  march, 
lest  any  of  the  boys  should  imprudently  eat  their 
rations  too  fast,  which,  as  their  route  lay  through 
woods  and  swamps  in  a  part  of  the  country  scarce 
ly  at  all  settled,  would  bring  disaster  upon  the  ex 
pedition  of  course.  Sam  had  calculated  the  march 
to  last  about  ten  days,  but  he  hoped  to  accomplish 
it  within  a  briefer  time.  The  supplies  they  had 
would  last  ten  days,  and  Sam  hoped  to  add  to 
them  by  killing  game  from  time  to  time,  for  al- 


SAM'S  TRAVELLING  FACTORY.  65 

though  the  party  were  unarmed,  Sam  knew  ways 
of  getting  game  without  gunpowrder,  and  meant 
to  put  some  of  them  in  practice. 

Toward  evening  of  the  first  day  out,  he  had 
stopped  in  a  canebrake  and  cut  three  well  season 
ed  canes,  selecting  straight,  tall  ones,  about  an 
inch  in  diameter,  and  taking  care  that  they  tapered 
as  little  and  as  regularly  as  possible.  Cutting 
them  off  at  both  ends  and  leaving  them  about  fif 
teen  feet  in  length,  he  next  cut  three  or  four  small 
canes,  very  long  and  green  ones,  without  flaw. 

That  night,  as  soon  as  supper  was  over  he 
brought  his  canes  to  the  fire  and  laid  them  down, 
preparatory  to  beginning  work  upon  them. 

"  What  are  you  a  goin'  to  do  with  them  canes, 
Sam  ?  "  asked  Billy  Bowlegs. 

"What  do  you  think,  Billy?" 

"  Dog-gone  ef  I  know,"  replied  Billy. 

"  Suppose  you  quit  saying  '  dog-gone  '  Billy  " 
said  Sam.  "  It  isn't  a  very  good  thing  to  say,  and 
you've  said  it  thirty-two  times  this  afternoon." 

"  Have  I  ?  well,  what's  the  odds  if  I  have  ?  " 

"  Well,  it's  a  bad  habit,  and  if  you'll  quit  it,  I'll 
give  you  one  of  those  canes  when  I  get  them  ready." 


66  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  What  'er  you  goin'  to  make  'cm  into  ?  " 

"  Guns,"  said  Sam,  working  away  as  hard  as 
he  could  with  his  jack-knife. 

"  Guns  !  what  sort  o?  guns  ?  Powder'd  burst 
'em  in  a  minute,  and  besides  we  aint  got  no  pow 
der." 

"  No,  but  I'm  sroinof  to  make  sfims  out  of  these 

o         o  o 

canes,  and  I'm  going  to  kill  something  with  them 
too." 

"  What  sort  o'  guns  ?  " 

"  Blow  guns." 

"  What's  a  blow  gun,  Mas.  Sam?  "  asked  Joe, 
becoming  interested,  as  all  the  boys  were  now. 

Sam  was  too  busy  to  answer  at  the  moment 
.and  so  Tom,  who  had  seen  Sam's  blow  guns  at 
home,  answered  for  him. 

"  He's  going  to  burn  out  the  joints  and  then 
make  arrows  with  iron  points  and  some  rabbit  fur 
around  the  light  ends.  The  fur  fills  up  the  hole 
.in  the  cane,  and  when  he  blows  in  the  end  it  sends 
the  arrow  off  like  a  bullet.  But  Sam  !  "  he  cried, 
suddenly  thinking  of  something. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  the  elder  brother  without 
rlooking  up. 


SAM'S  TRAVELLING  FACTORY,  67 

"  What  are  you  going  to  burn  them  out  with  ?  " 

"  With  that  little  rod,"  answered  Sam,  tossing 
a  bit  of  iron  about  six  inches  long  towards  his 
brother,  "  I  brought  it  with  me  on  purpose." 

"  Well,  but  it  won't  reach ;  you've  got  to  reach 
all  the  joints  you  know,  and  the  rod  must  be  as 
long  as  the  cane." 

"  Oh  no,  not  by  any  means." 

"  Yes  it  must,  of  course  it  must,"  exclaimed  all 
the  boys  in  a  breath.  "It's  just  like  burning  out  a 
pipe  stem  with  a  wire." 

"  No  it  is  not,"  replied  Sam,  smiling,  "  but  sup 
pose  it  is.  I  can  burn  out  a  pipe  stem  with  a  wire 
half  as  long  as  the  stem." 

"  How  ?  "  asked  two  or  three  boys  at  once. 

"  By  burning  first  from  one  end  and  then  from 
the  other." 

"  Yes,  that's  so,"  answered  Sid  Russell  slowly, 
drawling  his  words  out  as  if  he  had  to  drag  them 
up  through  his  long  legs,  "  but  that  don't  tell  how 
you're  goin'  to  bore  out  a  big  cane,  fifteen  feet  long 
with  a  little  iron  rod  not  more  'n  six  or  eight  inches 
long." 

"  Well,  if  you  will  be  patient  a  moment,  I'll  show 


68  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

you,"  answered  Sam,  picking  up  the  bit  ot  iron. 
Trimming  off  the  end  of  one  of  his  small  green 
canes,  Sam  measured  it  by  the  iron  rod  and  trimmed 
again.  He  continued  this  process  until  he  had 
the  end  of  the  cane  a  trifle  larger  than  the  iron 
was.  Then  taking  an  iron  tube  or  band  out  of 
his  pocket,  he  drove  the  iron  rod  firmly  into  it  for 
the  distance  of  about  half  an  inch,  leaving  the  other 
end  ofthe  tube  open.  Into  this  he  forced  the  end 
of  the  small  srreen  cane  and  having  made  it  firm  he 

o  o 

had  a  rod  about  ten  feet  long. 

"  There,"  he  said,  "  I  have  a  rod  lons^  enough 

O  O 

to  reach  a  good  deal  more  than  half  way  through 
either  one  of  my  big  canes.  It  isn't  iron  except 
at  the  end,  and  it  doesn't  need  to  be,"  and  with 
that  he  thrust  the  end  of  the  bit  of  iron  into  the 
fire  to  heat. 

"  Now,  Tom,"  he  said,  "  you  must  burn  the 
canes  out  while  I  do  something  else." 

O 

I  wonder  if  there  is  any  boy  who  needs  a  fuller 
explanation  than  the  one  which  Sam  has  already 
given,  of  what  was  going  forward.  There  may  be 
boys  enough,  for  aught  I  knowr,  who  never  went 
fishing  in  their  lives,  and  so  do  not  know  what 


SAM 'S  TRA  YELLING  FA  CTOR Y.  69 

canes,  or  reeds,  or  cane-poles,  as  they  are  variously 
called,  are  like.  I  must  explain,  therefore,  that  the 
canes  which  Sam  proposed  to  burn  out,  were  pre 
cisely  such  as  those  that  are  commonly  used  as 
fishing  rods.  These  canes  grow  all  over  the  South, 
in  the  swamps.  They  are,  in  fact,  a  kind  of  gigan 
tic  grass,  although  the  people  who  are  most  famil 
iar  with  them  do  not  dream  of  the  fact.  The 
botanists  call  them  a  grass,  at  any  rate,  and  the 
botanists  know.  Each  cane  is  a  long,  straight  rod, 
tapering  very  gently,  with  "joints,"  as  they  are 
called,  about  eight  or  ten  inches  apart.  These 
joints  are  simply  places  where  the  cane,  outside,  is 
a  little  larger  than  it  is  between  joints,  while  inside 
each  joint  consists  of  a  hard  woody  partition, 
across  the  hollow  tube,  which  is  otherwise  contin 
uous.  Sam's  plan  was  simply  to  burn  these  parti 
tions  away  with  a  hot  iron,  which  would  convert 
the  cane  into  a  long,  slender,  wooden  tube,  very 
hard,  very  light,  and  straight  as  an  arrow. 

Tom  went  to  work  at  once  to  burn  out  the 
joints,  a  work  which  occupied  a  good  deal  of  time, 
as  the  iron  had  to  be  re-heated  a  great  many  times. 
He  worked  very  steadily,  however  with  the  assist- 


70  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

ance  of  two  or  three  of   the  boys,  and  managed 
during-  that  first  evening  to  o:et  two  of  the  blow 

o  o  o 

guns  burned  out. 

Meantime  Sam  made  an  arrow,  very  small  and 
only  about  ten  inches  long,  out  of  some  dry  cedar. 

"  Now,"  he  said,  "  I  want  those  of  you  who 
are  not  busy  burning  out  the  canes,  to  go  to  work 
making  arrows  just  like  that,  while  I  do  something 
else." 

The  boys  went  to  work  with  a  will,  while  Sam, 
going  into  the  nearest  thicket,  cut  a  green  stick 
about  three  quarters  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  Re 
turning  to  the  fire,  he  split  one  end  of  this  stick 
for  a  little  way,  converting  it  into  a  sort  of  rude 
pincer.  He  then  unrolled  his  blanket,  and  levealed 
to  the  astonished  gaze  of  his  companions  several 
pounds  of  horse  shoe  nails. 

"What  on  earth  are  you  goin'to  do  with  them 
horse  shoe  nails  ? "  asked  Billy  Bowlegs,  looking 
up  from  the  cedar  arrow  on  which  he  was  work 
ing. 

"  I'm  going  to  make  arrow  heads  out  of  them," 
answered  Sam,  thrusting  several  of  them  into  the 
bed  of  coals. 


SAM'S  TRA  VELLING  FA  CTOR  Y. 


With  the  side  of  an  axe  for  an  anvil,  and  the 
hatchet  for  a  hammer,  Sam  was  soon  very  busy  for 
ging  his  wrought  nails  into  sharp  arrow  points, 
holding  the  hot  iron  in  his  wooden  pincers. 
Among  the  things  that  Sam  had  thought  it  worth 
while  to  learn  something  about,  was  blacksmithing, 
and  he  was  really  expert  in  the  simpler  arts  of  the 
smith.  He  could  shoe  a  horse,  "  point  "  a  plow, 
or  \veld  iron  or  steel,  very  well  indeed. 

He  had  learned  this  as  he  had  learned  a  good 
many  other  things,  merely  because  he  thought 
that  every  young  man  should  know  how  to  do 
tolerably  well  whatever  he  might  sometime  need 
to  do,  and  in  a  new  country  where  shops  are  scarce 
and  workmen  are  not  always  to  be  found,  there  is 
no  mechanical  art  which  it  is  not  sometimes  very 
convenient  to  know  something  about. 

Sam  wrought  now  so  expertly  that  within  less 
than  an  hour  he  had  made  six  arrow  points.  These 
he  fitted  to  six  of  the  arrows,  and  then  he  suspended 
work  for  the  evening,  and  marked  progress  on  his 
map  ;  that  is  to  say,  he  pricked  on  his  map  with  a  pin 
the  course  followed  during  the  afternoon,  estimat 
ing  the  distance  travelled  as  accurately  as  he  could. 


J2  CAPTAIN  SAM. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

A  MOTION  WHICH  WAS  NOT    IN    ORDER. 

HE  next  day  the  march  was  resumed,  and 
continued  with  some  baitings  for  rest 
until  about  three  o'clock,  when  Sam 
chose  a  camp  for  the  night,  saying  that  they  had 
already  made  a  better  march  than  he  had  planned 
for  that  day,  and  that  there  was  no  occasion  to 
break  themselves  down  by  going  further. 

The  work  was  at  once  resumed  upon  guns  and 
arrows,  Sam  beginning  by  finishing  the  arrows  al 
ready  made.  He  cut  strips  from  a  hare's  skin 
which  Tommy  had  brought  with  him  at  Sam's  re 
quest,  making  each  strip  about  four  or  five  in 
ches  long,  and  just  wide  enough  to  meet  around 
the  end  of  an  arrow.  Binding  these  strips  firmly, 
the  arrows  were  complete.  Each  was  a  slender, 
light  stick  of  cedar,  shod  at  one  end  with  a  slen- 


A  MOTION  WHICH  WAS  NOT  IN  ORDER.        73 

der  iron  point,  and  bound  around  at  the  other,  for 
a  distance  of  several  inches,  with  the  fur  of  the  hare. 
Pushing  one  of  these  into  the  mouth  end  of  his 
blow  gun,  Sam  showed  his  companions  that  the 
fur  completely  filled  the  tube,  so  that  when  he 
should  blow  in  the  end  the  arrow  would  be  driven 
through  and  out  with  considerable  force. 

Pointing  the  gun  toward  a  tree  a  little  way  off, 
Sam  blew,  and  in  a  moment  the  arrow  was  seen 
sticking  in  the  tree,  its  head  being  almost  wholly 
buried  in  the  solid  wood. 

The  boys  ail  wanted  to  try  the  new  guns,  of 
course,  and  Sam  permitted  them  to  do  so,  greatly 
to  their  delight,  as  long  as  the  daylight  lasted. 
Then  the  manufacture  of  new  arrows  began,  the 
boys  working  earnestly  now,  because  they  were  in 
terested. 

After  awhile  Sam  took  out  his  map  and  be 
gan  pricking  the  course  upon  it. 

"  I  say,  Sam,"  said  Bob  Sharp,  "how  do  you 
do  that  ?  " 

"  How  do  I  do  what  ?  Prick  the  map  ? ' 

"  No,  I  mean  how  do  you  know  where  we  are 
and  which  way  we  go  ?" 


74  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  That's  just  what  I  want  to  know,"  said  Sid 
Russell. 

"  And  me,  too,"  chimed  in  Billy  Bunker  and 
Jake  Elliott. 

"Well,  come  here,  all  of  you,"  replied  Sam, 
"  and  I'll  show  you.  We  started  there,  at  camp 
Jackson, — you  see,  don't  you,  where  the  Coosa  and 
the  Tallapoosa  rivers  come  together  and  we  are 
going  down  there,"  pointing  to  a  spot  on  the  map, 
"  to  the  sea,  or  rather  to  the  Bay  near  Pensacola." 

"  Are  we !  Good !  I  never  saw  the  sea,"  said 
Sid  Russell,  speaking  faster  than  any  of  the  boys 
had  ever  heard  him  speak  before. 

"  Yes,  that  is  the  place  we're  going  to,  and 
presently  I'll  tell  you  what  we're  going  for ;  but 
one  thing  at  a  time.  You  see  the  course  is  a  lit 
tle  west  of  south,  nearly  but  not  quite  southwest. 
The  distance,  in  an  air  line  is  about  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five  miles  :  that  is  to  say  Pensacola  is  about 
a  hundred  and  ten  miles  further  south  than  camp 
Jackson,  and  about  fifty  miles  further  west." 

"  That  would  be  a  hundred  and  sixty  miles 
then,"  said  Billy  Bowlegs. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Sam,  "  it  would  if  we  went  due 


A  MOTION  WHICH  WAS  OUT  OF  ORDER. 


75 


south  and  then  due  west,  taking  the  base  and  per 
pendicular  of  a  right  angled  triangle,  instead  of  its 
hypothenuse." 

"  Whew,  what's  all  them  words  I  wonder,"  ex 
claimed  Billy. 

'•  Well,  I'll  try  to  show  you  what  I  mean,' 
said  Sam,  taking  a  stick  and  drawing  in  the  sand 
a  figure  like  this  : 


"  There,"  said  Sam,  "  that's  a  right  angled  tri 
angle,  but  you  may  call  it  a  thingimajig  if  you 
like;  it  doesn't  matter  about  the  name.  Suppose 
we  start  at  the  top  to  go  to  the  left  hand  lower 
corner ;  don't  you  see  that  it  would  be  further  to 
go  straight  down  to  the  right  hand  lower  corner 
and  then  across  to  the  left  hand  lower  corner,  than 
to  go  straight  from  the  top  to  the  left  hand  lower 
corner." 

"  Certainly,"  replied  Billy,"  it's  just  like  going 
cat  a  cornered  across  a  field." 


76  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  Well,"  said  Sam,  pointing  with  his  finger, 
"  if  I  were  to  draw  a  triangle  here  on  the  map  be 
ginning  at  camp  Jackson  and  running  due  south 
to  the  line  of  Pensacola,  and  then  due  west  to 
Pensacola  itself,  with  a  third  line  rurning  'cat  a 
cornered '  as  you  say,  from  camp  Jackson  straight 
to  Pensacola,  the  line  due  south  would  be  about 
a  hundred  and  ten  miles  long  and  the  one  due 
west  about  fifty  miles  long,  while  the  '  cat  a  cor 
nered  '  line  would  be  about  a  hundred  and  twen 
ty  five  miles  long." 

"  How  do  you  find  out  that  last, — the  cat  a 
cornered  line's  length  ?  "  asked  Tom. 

"  I  can't  explain  that  to  you,"  said  Sam,  "be 
cause  you  haven't  studied  geometry." 

"  Oh  well,  tell  us  anyhow,  if  we  don't  under 
stand  it,"  said  Sid  Russell,  who  sat  with  his  mouth 
open. 

"  Sid  wants  to  find  out  how  to  tell  how  far  it 
is  from  his  head  to  his  heels,  without  having  to 
make  the  trip  when  he's  tired,"  said  Bob  Sharp, 
who  was  always  poking  fun  at  Sid's  long  legs. 

"  Well,"  said  Sam  smiling,  "  I  know  the 
length  of  that  line  because  I  know  that  the  square 


A  MOTION  WHICH  WAS  OUT  OF  ORDER.        7; 

described  on  the  hypothenuse  of  a  right  angled  tri 
angle  is  equal  to  the  sum  of  the  squares  described 
on  the  other  two  sides." 

"  Whew !  it  fairly  takes  the  breath  out  of  a 
fellow  to  hear  you  rattle  that  off,"  replied  Sid. 

"  Come,"  resumed  Sam,  "  we  aren't  getting  on 
with  what  we  undertook.  Now  look  and  listen. 
Here  is  the  line  we  would  follow  if  we  could  go 
straight  from  Camp  Jackson  to  Pensacola..  If  we 
could  follow  it,  I  would  only  have  to  guess  how 
many  miles  we  march  each  day,  and  mark  it 
down  on  the  map.  But  we  can't  go  straight,  be 
cause  of  swamps  and  creeks  and  canebrakes,  so  I 
must  keep  looking  at  my  compass  to  find  out 
what  direction  we  do  go ;  then  I  mark  on  the 
map  the  route  we  have  followed  each  day,  and 
the  distance,  and  each  night's  camp  gives  me  a 
new  starting  point." 

"  Yes,  but  Sam,"  said  Tom,  suddenly  thinking 
of  something. 

"Well,  what  is  it,  Tom?" 

"  Suppose  you  guess  wrong  as  to  the  distance 
travelled  each  day  ? " 

"  Well,  suppose  I  do ;  I  can't  miss  it  very  far." 


78  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  No,  but  it  gives  you  a  wrong  starting-point 
for  the  next  day,  and  two  or  three  mistakes  would 
throw  you  clear  out." 

"  Yes,  but  I  make  corrections  constantly. 
You  see,  I  have  changed  the  place  of  last  night's 
camp  a  little  on  the  map." 

"  How  do  you  make  corrections  ? " 

"  By  the  creeks  and  rivers.  Here,  for  instance, 
is  a  creek  that  we  ought  to  cross  about  ten  miles 
ahead.  If  we  come  to  it  short  of  that,  or  if  it 
proves  to  be  further  off,  I  shall  know  that  I  have 
got  to-night's  camp  placed  wrong  on  the  map.  I 
shall  then  correct  my  estimate.  When  we  come 
to  the  next  creek  I  shall  be  able  to  make  my 
guess  still  more  certain,  and  by  the  time  we  get 
to  Pensacola  I  shall  have  the  whole  march  marked 
pretty  nearly  right  on  the  map." 

"  I'd  give  a  purty  price  for  that  there  head  o' 
your'n,  Sam,"  said  Sid  Russell. 

"  It  isn't  for  sale,  Sid,  and  besides  it  will  be  a 
good  deal  cheaper  to  use  the  one  you  have,  taking 
care  to  make  it  as  good  as  anybody's.  Now 
let  me  explain  to  all  of  you  why  we  are  go 
ing  to  Pensacola,"  and  with  that  Sam  entered 


A  MOTION  WHICH  WAS  OUT  OF  ORDER.       79 

into  the  plans  which  we  know  all  about  already, 
and  which  need  not  be  repeated  here.  When 
he  had  finished  the  boys  plied  him  with  questions, 
which  he  answered  as  well  as  he  could.  Jake 
Elliott  said  nothing  for  a  time,  but  after  a  while 
he  ventured  to  ask  : — 

"  Don't  they  hang  fellows  they  ketch  in  that 
sort  o'  business? " 

"  They  hang  spies,"  replied  Sam,  "  but  they 
can  scarcely  hold  us  to  be  spies,  especially  as  we 
shall  be  in  the  territory  of  a  friendly  neutral 
nation,  where  there  cannot  properly  be  a  British 
camp  at  all." 

"  Well,  but  mayn't  they  do  it  anyhow,  just  as 
they  are  a  campin'  there,  anyhow  ?  " 

"  Of  course  they  may,  but  I  do  not  think  it 
likely.  In  the  first  place  we  mustn't  let  them 
suspect  us,  and  in  the  second,  we  must  make  use 
of  what  law  there  is  if  we  should  be  arrested." 

"  Well,  but  if  it  all  failed,  what  then  ?  "  asked 
Jake. 

"  Oh,  shut  up  Jake,"  cried  Billy  Bowlegs. 
"  You're  afeard,  that's  what's  the  matter  with  you." 

"  Well,"  replied  Sam  "  that  is  simply  a  risk 


So  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

that  we  have  to  run,  like  any  other  risk  in  war. 
I  told  you  all  in  advance  that  the  expedition  was 
a  hazardous  one." 

"  Of  course  you  did,  an'  what's  more  you  didn't 
want  Jake  Elliott  to  come  either,"  said  Billy  Bow- 
legs. 

"  Go  into  your  hole,  Jake,  if  you're  scared," 
said  Bob  Sharp. 

"  Jake  ain't  scared,  he's  only  bashful, '  drawled 
Sid  Russell. 

''  I  ain't  afraid  no  more'n  the  rest  of  you,"  said 
Jake,  "  but  you're  all  fools  enough  to  run  your 
heads  into  a  noose." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that  ? "  asked  Sam, 
looking  up  quickly  from  the  map  over  which  he 
had  been  poring. 

"  I  mean  just  this,"  replied  Jake,  "  that  this 
here  business  '11  end  in  gettin'  us  into  trouble 
that  we  wont  git  out  of  soon,  an'  I  move  we 
draw  out'n  it  right  now,  afore  its  too  late." 

Sam  was  on  his  feet  in  an  instant. 

"  Do  you  know  what  you're  saying  sir?"  he 
cried.  "  Do  you  understand  who  is  master  here  ? 
Do  you  know  that  no  motions  are  in  order  ?  Let 


A  MOTION  WHICH  WAS  OUT  OF  ORDER.  8 1 

me  tell  you  once  for  all  thai  I  will  tolerate  no 
further  mutinous  words  from  you.  If  I  hear 
another  word  of  the  kind  from  you,  or  see  a  sign 
of  misconduct  on  your  part,  I  shall  take  measures 
for  your  punishment.  Stop !  I  want  no  answer. 
I  have  warned  you  and  that  is  enough." 

Sam's  sudden  assertion  of  his  authority,  in 
terms  so  peremptory,  took  Jake  completely  by 
surprise.  Sam  was  a  good  tempered  fellow,  and 
not  at  all  disposed  to  "put  on  airs  "  as  boys  say, 
and  hence  he  had  been  as  easy  and  familiar  with 
his  companions  as  if  they  had  been  merely  a  lot 
of  school  boys  out  for  a  holiday ;  but  when  Jake 
Elliott  suggested  a  revolt,  Sam,  the  good  natured 
companion,  became  Captain  Sam,  the  stern  com 
mander,  at  once. 

The  other  boys  saw  at  once  the  necessity  and 
propriety  of  the  rebuke  he  had  administered. 
They  believed  Jake  Elliott  to  be  a  coward  and  a 
bully,  and  they  were  glad  to  see  him  properly  and 
promptly  checked  in  his  effort  to  give  trouble. 

It  was  growing  late  and  the  boys  presently 
threw  themselves  down  on  their  beds  of  soft  gray 

moss  and  were  soon  sound  asleep. 

6 


82  CAPTAIN  SAM. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

JAKE  ELLIOTT  GETS  EVEN  WITH  SAM. 

[AKE  ELLIOTT  was  a  coward  all  over, 
and  clear  through.  He  had  always 
been  a  bully  and  pretended  to  the  pos 
session  of  unusual  courage.  He  had  tyrannized 
over  small  boys,  threatened  boys  of  his  own  size 
and  sneered  at  boys  whom  he  thought  able  to 
hold  their  own  against  him  in  a  fight.  He  had 
had  many  fights  in  his  time,  but  had  always  man- 
.aged  to  get  the  best  of  his  opponents,  by  the  very 
simple  process  of  choosing  for  the  purpose,  boys 
who  were  not  as  strong  as  he  was.  As  a  result 
-of  all  this  he  had  acquired  a  great  reputation 
among  his  fellows,  and  most  of  the  boys  in  his 
neighborhood  were  very  careful  not  to  provoke 
him ;  but  he  was  a  great  coward  through  it  all, 
and  when  he  first  came  in  collision  with  Sam 


JAKE  ELLIOTT  GETS  EVEN  WITH  SAM.       83 

Hardwicke  his  cowardice  showed  itself  too  plainly 
to  be  mistaken.  Now  there  is  a  curious  thing 
about  cowards  of  this  sort.  When  they  are  once 
found  out  they  lose  the  little  appearance  of  cour 
age  that  they  have  taken  such  pains  to  maintain, 
and  become  at  once  the  most  abject  and  shame 
less  dastards  imaginable.  That  was  what  hap 
pened  to  Jake  Elliott.  When  Sam  conquered 
him  so  effectually  on  the  occasion  of  the  boot 
stealing,  he  lost  all  the  pride  he  had  and  all  his 
meanness  seemed  to  come  to  the  surface.  If  he  had 
had  a  spark  of  manliness  in  him,  he  would  have 
recognized  Sam's  generosity  in  sparing  him  at 
that  time,  and  would  have  behaved  himself  better 
afterward.  As  it  was  he  simply  cherished  his 
malice  and  resolved  to  do  Sam  all  the  injury  he 
could  in  secret. 

When  Sam  organized  his  expedition  at  Camp 
Jackson,  Jake  had  two  motives  in  joining  it.  In 
the  first  place  things  around  the  camp  looked  too 
much  like  genuine  preparation  for  a  hard  fight 
with  the  enemy,  and  Jake  thought  that  if  he 
should  enlist  he  would  be  forced  to  fight,  which 
was  precisely  what  he  did  not  mean  to  do  if  he 


84  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

could  help  it.  By  joining  Sam's  party,  however, 
he  would  escape  the  necessity  of  enlisting,  and 
he  thought  that  the  little  band  was  going  away 
from  danger  instead  of  going  into  it.  He 
thought,  too,  that  if  any  real  danger  should 
come,  under  Sam's  leadership,  he  could  run  away 
from  it,  or  sneak  out  in  some  way,  and  as  he 
would  not  be  a  regularly  enlisted  soldier,  no  pun 
ishment  could  follow. 

This  was  his  first  reason  for  joining.  His 
second  one  was  still  more  unworthy.  He  was 
bent  upon  doing  Sam  all  the  secret  injury  he 
could,  and  he  thought  that  by  going  with  him  he 
would  have  opportunities  to  wreak  his  vengeance, 
which  he  would  otherwise  lose. 

When  he  learned,  as  we  have  seen,  whither 
Sam  was  leading  his  party,  and  on  what  errand, 
he  was  really  frightened,  and  Sam's  sharp  rebuke 
made  him  still  bitterer  in  his  feelings  toward  his 
young  commander.  A  coward  with  a  grudge 
which  he  is  afraid  to  avenge  openly,  is  a  very 
dangerous  foe.  He  will  do  anything  against  his 
adversary  which  he  thinks  he  can  do  safely,  by 
sneaking,  and  when  Jake  Elliott  threw  himself 


JAKE  ELLIOTT  GETS  EVEN  WITH  SAM.       85 

down  on  his  pile  of  moss  he  did  not  mean  to  go 
to  sleep.  He  meant  to  revenge  himself  on  Sam 
before  morning,  and  at  the  same  time  to  make  it 
impossible  for  the  expedition  to  go  on.  If  he 
could  force  Sam  to  return  to  Camp  Jackson,  he 
said  to  himself,  he  would  humiliate  that  young 
man  beyond  endurance,  and  at  the  same  time  get 
himself  out  of  the  danger  into  which  Sam  was 
leading  him.  Everybody  would  laugh  at  Sam, 
and  call  him  a  coward,  and  suspect  him  of  failing 
in  his  expedition  purposely,  all  of  which  would 
please  Jake  Elliott  mightily. 

How  to  accomplish  all  this  was  a  problem 
which  Jake  thought  he  had  solved  by  a  sudden 
inspiration.  He  had  formed  his  plan  at  the  very 
moment  of  receiving  Sam's  rebuke,  and  he  waited 
now  only  for  a  chance  to  execute  it. 

An  hour  passed ;  two  hours,  three.  It  was 
after  midnight,  and  all  the  boys  were  sleeping 
soundly.  Jake  arose  noiselessly  and  crept  to  the 
tree  at  whose  roots  Sam  had  laid  his  baggage. 
It  was  thirty  feet  or  more  from  any  of  the  boys, 
and  Jake  was  not  afraid  of  waking  them.  He 
fumbled  about  in  Sam's  baggage  until  he  felt 


86  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

something  hard  and  round  and  cold.  He  drew 
out  a  little  circular  brass  box  about  two  and  a  half 
inches  in  diameter,  with  a  glass  top  to  it.  It  was 
Sam's  compass.  He  tried  hard  to  raise  the  glass 
in  some  way,  but  failed.  Finally,  with  much  fear, 
lest  he  should  awaken  some  of  the  boys,  he  struck 
the  glass  with  the  end  of  his  heavy  Jack  knife 
and  broke  it.  This  admitted  his  ringers,  and 
taking  out  the  needle  of  the  compass  he  broke  it 
half  in  two.  Then  replacing  the  brass  lid,  leav 
ing  all  the  pieces  of  the  ruined  instrument  inside, 
he  slipped  the  compass  back  into  its  original 
place  and  crept  back  to  his  bed  by  the  fire. 

"  Now,"  he  thought,  "  I  reckon  Mr.  Sam 
Hardwicke's  long  head  will  be  puzzled,  and  I 
reckon  I'll  be  even  with  him,  when  he  gives  up 
that  he  can't  go  on,  and  has  to  turn  back  to 
Camp  Jackson.  A  pretty  story  he'll  have  to  tell, 
and  wont  people  want  to  know  how  his  compass 
got  broke  ?  They'll  think  it  very  curious,  and 
maybe  they  wont  suspect  that  he  broke  it  himself, 
for  an  excuse.  Oh  !  wont  they  though  !  " 

He  fairly  chuckled  with  delight,  in  anticipa 
tion  of  Sam's  humiliation.  He  knew  that  the 


JAKE  ELLIOTT  GETS  EVEN  WITH  SAM.        g/ 

country  south  of  them  was  wholly  unsettled,  a 
perfect  wilderness  of  woods  and  canebrakes  and 
swamps,  which  nobody  could  go  through  without 
some  guide  as  to  the  points  of  the  compass,  and 
hence  he  was  satisfied  that  the  destruction  of 
Sam's  instrument  was  an  effectual  way  of  com 
pelling  the  young  captain  to  retreat  while  it  was 
still  possible  to  retrace  the  trail  the  party  had 
made  in  coming.  He  was  so  delighted  that  he 
could  not  sleep  and  hours  passed  before  he  closed 
his  eyes. 


88  CAPTAIN  SAM. 


CHAPTER  X. 

A  DISTURBANCE  IN  CAMP. 

AKE  ELLIOTT  got  very  little  sleep  that 
night.  Indeed  it  was  nearly  daylight  when 
he  fell  asleep  and  it  was  one  of  Sam's 
marching  rules  to  march  early.  He  waked  the  boys 
every  morning  as  soon  as  it  was  sufficiently  light  for 
them  to  begin  preparing  breakfast,  and  by  sunrise 
they  were  ready  to  begin  their  day's  march. 

This  morning  it  was  cloudy  and  there  were 
symptoms  of  a  coming  storm.  Sam  was  up  at  the 
first  breaking  of  day,  and  he  hurriedly  waked  the 
boys. 

"  Come,  boys,"  he  said,  "  we  must  hurry  or  we 
shall  be  too  late  to  cross  a  river  that's  ahead  of  us, 
before  it  begins  to  rise.  Get  breakfast  ove-r  as 
quickly  as  possible,  for  we  mustn't  fail  to  make  sev 
enteen  miles  to-day,  and  if  it  rains  heavily  it'll  be  bad 


A  DISTURBANCE  IN  CAMP.  89 

marching  in  this  swamp.  There's  higher  ground 
ahead  of  us  for  to-morrow,  but  we  mustn't  be 
caught  in  here  by  high  water  in  the  creeks." 

The  boys  sprang  up  quickly  and  made  all 
has»te  in  the  preparation  of  breakfast.  Jake  Elliott 
was  dull  and  moody.  The  fact  is  he  was  sleepy 
and  tired  with  the  night's  excitement,  and  in  no 
very  good  condition  to  march.  He  dragged  with 
his  share  of  the  work,  but  breakfast  was  soon 
over,  and  Sam  was  ready  to  start.  Taking  out  his 
compass  to  get  his  bearings  right  he  opened  it, 
and  saw  the  ruin  that  had  been  wrought. 

He  looked  up  in  surprise  and  caught  Jake  El 
liott's  eye.  In  an  instant  he  guessed  the  truth. 

"  Lay  down  your  bundles,  boys,"  he  said,  "  we 
cannot  start  just  yet." 

"  Why  not,  Captain  Sam  ?  ':  asked  two  or 
three  boys  in  a  breath. 

"  Because  Jake  Elliott  has  broken  our  compass." 
replied  Sam,  looking  the  offender  fixedly  in  the  eye. 

"  Shame  on  the  wretched  coward,"  exclaimed 
the  boys.  "  Let's  duck  him  in  the  creek." 

"  I'm  not  a  coward,  and  whoever  says  I  broke 
the  compass — " 


90  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  Silence ! "  cried  Sam  peremptorily.  "  Don't 
finish  that  sentence,  Jake.  It  isn't  a  wise  thing  to 
do.  Besides  there's  no  use  putting  it  in  that  way. 
1  Whoever  says,'  is  a  vague  sort  of  phrase.  You 
know  very  well  who  said  that  you  broke  the  com 
pass.  I  said  it;  Sam  Hardwicke  said  it,  and  you  do 
not  dare  to  say  that  I  lie.  Don't  try  to  say  it  by 
calling  me  '  whoever  says.'  That  isn't  my  name." 

Sam  was  as  cool  and  quiet  as  possible.  There 
was  no  sign  of  agitation  in  his  voice,  and  no  an 
ger  in  his  tone.  The  boys,  however,  were  furious. 
They  were  in  earnest  in  this  expedition,  and  they 
supposed,  of  course,  that  the  destruction  of  the 
compass  \vould  force  them  to  return  to  camp.  Be 
side  this,  it  angered  them  to  think  that  Jake  had 
done  so  mean  a  thing. 

Billy  Bowlegs,  the  smallest  boy  in  the  party, 
was  especially  furious.  Walking  up  to  Jake  with 
his  fists  clenched,  he  said: 

"  Jake  Elliott,  you're  a  sneak  and  a  coward, 
and  you  daren't  answer  for  yourself.  Just  deny  it 
please,  do  deny  it,  so's  I  can  bat  you  in  the  mouth. 
I'm  hungry  to  wallop  you.  Do  say  I  lie,  or  say 
anything,  open  your  head,  or  lift  your  hand,  or 


A  DISTURBANCE  IN  CAMP.  gi 

wink  your  eye,  or  look  at  me,  or  do  something. 
Just  give  me  any  sort  of  excuse  and  I'll  give  you 
what  you  deserve,  now  and  here." 

Billy  screamed  this  out  at  the  top  of  his  voice, 
advancing  on  Jake  every  moment,  as  the  latter 
drew  back. 

"  What  can  I  say  to  make  you  fight  ?"  he  con 
tinued.  "  I'll  call  you  anything  that's  mean.  Just 
say  what  it  shall  be  and  consider  it  said.  Won't 
any  thing  make  you  fight  ?  There,  and  there  and 
there,  now  may  be  you'll  resent  that." 

The  words  "  there  and  there  and  there  "  were 
accompanied  by  three  vigorous  slaps  which  Billy 
laid  with  a  will  on  Jake's  cheeks,  in  despair  of  pro 
voking  him  to  resent  anything  less  positive.  It 
was  all  done  in  a  moment,  and  in  another  instant 
Sam  had  brought  Billy  Bowlegs  to  his  senses,  by 
quietly  leading  him  away  and  saying. 

"  Let  him  alone,  Billy ;  there's  no  credit  in 
fighting  such  a  coward." 

Enough  had  occurred,  however,  to  show  that 
Jake  was  thoroughly  scared  by  the  little  fellow's 
violence,  and  he  could  not  have  been  more  thor 
oughly  whipped  than  he  was  already. 


92  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

When  order  had  been  restored,  Sam  said 
quietly : — 

"  The  breaking  of  the  compass  is  a  serious  mis 
hap,  and  the  want  of  it  will  give  us  trouble  all  the 
way ;  but  luckily  it  is  not  fatal  to  our  expedition, 
if  you  boys  will  help  me  work  out  the  problem 
without  the  aid  of  the  needle." 

"Help  you!  You  see  if  we  wont!"  cried  the 
enthusiastic  boys  in  chorus. 

"  Thank  you,"  replied  Sam,  lifting  his  cap,  "  I 
thought  I  could  depend  upon  you." 

"  But  can  you  really  find  the  way  without  the 
compass,  Sam  ?  "  asked  Tom. 

"  Certainly,  else  I  shouldn't  be  fit  to  be  in  the 
woods." 

"  How  can  you  do  it  ? " 

"  I'll  show  you  presently." 

"  What'll  you  do  with  Jake  ? "  asked  Sid  Russell. 

"  I'll  take  him  with  us,"  replied  Sam. 

"  Is  that  all  ?  " 

"  That  is  enough,  I  think.  He  is  the  worst 
punished  boy  or  man  in  America  this  minute, 
and  he'll  be  punished  every  minute  while  he  stays 
with  us." 


A  DISTURBANCE  IN  CAMP.  93 

"  Well  but  ain't  nothin'  more  to  be  done  to 
him  ?  Can't  I  just  duck  him  a  little  or  something 
of  that  sort  ?  " 

"  No,  certainly  not.  We  all  know  him  now, 
as  a  coward  and  a  miserable  sneak.  What's  the 
good  of  demonstrating  it  further  ?  It  would  be 
dirtying  your  own  hands." 

"  That's  kind  o'  so,  captain,  but  I'd  sort  o'  like 
to  duck  him  a  little  anyhow.  The  creek's  so 
handy  down  there." 

"  No,"  said  Sam.  "  I  want  no  further  refer 
ence  made  to  this  matter.  Jake  Elliott  will  go 
on  with  us,  and  as  I  have  said  already,  he's  pun 
ished  enough.  Besides  it  may  prove  to  be  a 
lesson  to  him.  He  may  do  better  hereafter,  and 
if  he  does,  if  he  shows  a  genuine  disposition  to 
atone  for  his  misconduct  by  good  behavior  in  the 
future,  I  want  nobody  to  tell  of  what  has  occurred 
here,  after  we  get  back  to  our  friends.  I  ask  that 
now  of  you  boys  as  a  favor,  and  I  shall  think 
nobody  my  friend  who  will  not  join  me  in  this 
effort  to  make  a  man  out  of  our  companion.  I 
am  ready  to  forgive  him  freely,  and  the  quarrel 
has  been  mine  from  the  first.  You  can  certainly 


94  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

afford  to  hold  your  tongues  at  my  request,  if  Jake 
tries  to  do  better  hereafter.  I  want  your  promise 
to  that  effect." 

The  boys  required  some  urging  before. they 
would  promise,  but  their  admiration  for  Sam's 
magnanimity  was  too  great  for  them  to  persist  in 
refusing  anything  that  he  asked  of  them.  They 
promised  at  last,  not  only  not  to  refer  to  the 
matter  during  their  campaign,  but  to  keep  it  a 
secret  afterward,  provided  Jake  should  be  guilty 
of  no  further  misconduct. 

"  Thank  you,  boys,"  said  Sam,  "  and  now, 
Jake,"  he  continued,  "  you  have  a  chance  to  re 
deem  your  reputation.  You  cannot  undo  what 
you  have  done,  but  you  can  act  like  a  man  here 
after,  without  having  this  business  thrown  up  to 
you." 

Sam  held  out  his  hand,  but  Jake  pretended 
not  to  see  it. 


BACKWOODS  GEOMETRY.  95 


CHAPTER  XI. 

BACKWOODS     GEOMETRY. 

HE  quarrel  having  ended  in  the  way  de 
scribed  in  the  last  chapter,  the  boys  were 
compelled  to  find  something  else  to  talk 
about,  as  they  were  under  a  pledge  not  to  refer 
further  to  that  matter.  They  were  prepared,  there 
fore,  to  take  an  interest  in  Sam's  preparations  for 
resuming  the  march  without  the  assistance  of  a 
compass.  Their  curiosity  was  great  to  know  how 
he  meant  to  proceed,  and  it  was  made  greater  by 

what  he  did  first. 

i 

The  clouds  were  thick  and  heavy,  as  I  have 
already  said,  so  that  there  was  no  chance  to  look 
at  the  sun  for  guidance ;  but  Sam  Hardwicke  was 
full  of  resources.  He  had  a  good  habit  of  ob 
serving  whatever  he  saw  and  remembering  it, 
whether  he  saw  any  reason  to  suppose  that  it  might 


96  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

be  of  use  to  him  or  not.  Just  now  he  remember- 
ed  something  which  he  had  observed  the  evening 
before,  and  he  proceeded  at  once  to  make  use  of  it. 

He  cut  a  stick,  sharpened  it  a  little  at  one 
end,  and  drove  it  into  the  ground  at  a  spot  which 
he  had  selected  for  the  purpose.  Then  he  walked 
away  twenty  or  thirty  paces  and  drove  another 
stake,  sighting  from  one  to  the  other,  and  taking 
pains  to  get  them  in  line  with  a  tree  which  stood 
at  a  little  distance  from  the  first  stake. 

"  What  are  you  doing,  Captain  Sam  ?  "  asked 
Bob  Sharp,  unable  to  restrain  his  curiosity. 

"  I  am  getting  the  points  of  the  compass,"  re 
plied  Sam. 

"  Yes,  but  how  are  you  a  doin'  it  ? "  asked  Sid 
Russell. 

"  Well,"  replied  Sam,  "  I'll  show  you.  Just 
before  sunset  yesterday  I  wanted  to  mark  my  map, 
and  I  sat  down  right  here,"  pointing  to  a  spot 
near  the  first  stake,  "  because  it  was  shady  here. 
The  trunk  of  that  big  tree  threw  its  shadow 
here.  Now  the  sun  does  not  set  exactly  in  the 
west  in  this  latitude,  but  a  little  south  of  west  at 
this  time  of  year.  The  line  of  a  tree's  shadow, 


BACKWOODS  GEOMETRY.  97 

therefore,  at. sunset  must  be  from  the  tree  a  trifle 
north  of  east.  Now  I  have  driven  this  stake " 
(pointing  to  the  first  one)  "just  a  little  to  the  right 
of  the  middle  of  the  shadow,  as  I  remember  it,  so 
that  a  line  from  the  stake  to  the  middle  of  the 
tree-trunk  must  be  very  nearly  an  east  and  west 
line.  The  other  stake  I  drove  merely  to  aid  me 
in  tracing  this  line.  Now  I  will  go  on  with  my 
work,  explaining  as  I  go." 

Taking  his  pocket-rule  he  measured  off  twenty 
feet  cast  and  west  from  his  first  stake,  and  drove  a 
stake  at  each  point. 

"  Now,"  he  said,  "  I  have  an  east  and  west  line, 
forty  feet  long,  with  a  stake  at  each  end  and  a 
stake  in  the  middle." 

This  is  what  he  had: 

I  20  FEET.  |  20  FEET. 

"  A  north  and  south  line  will  run  straight 
across  this,  at  right  angles,  and  I  can  draw  it 
pretty  accurately  with  my  eye,  but  to  be  exact 
I  have  measured  this  line  as  you  see.  Now  I'll 
draw  a  line  as  nearly  as  I  can  straight  across  this 

one,  and  of  precisely  the  same  length." 

7 


98 


CAPTAIN  SAM, 


He  drew  and  staked  the  second  line,  and  this 
is  what  he  had : 


North  Stake. 

* 


55  *_ 


20  FEET. 


20  FEET. 


South  Stake. 

"  Now,"  he  said,  "  if  I  have  drawn  my  last  line 
exactly  at  right  angles  with  my  first  one,  it  runs 
north  and  south ;  and  to  find  out  whether  or  not  I 
have  drawn  it  exactly,  I  must  measure.  If  it  is  just 
right  it  will  be  precisely  the  same  distance  from 
the  south  stake  to  the  east  stake  as  from  the  south 
stake  to  the  west  stake  ;  and  from  the  east  stake 
to  the  south  one  will  be  south-wrest,  while  from 
the  west  to  the  south  will  be  south-east. " 

With  that  Sam  measured,  and  found  that  he 
was  just  a  trifle  out.  Readjusting  his  north  and 
south  stakes,  he  soon  had  his  lines  right. 


BACKWOODS  GEOMETRY.  gg 

"Now,"  he  resumed,  "I  know  the  points  of  the 
compass,  and  I'll  explain  how  you  can  help  me. 
Our  course  lies  exactly  in  a  line  from  me  through 
that  big  gum  tree  over  there  to  the  dead  syca 
more  beyond.  If  we  go  toward  the  gum,  keeping 
it  always  in  a  line  with  the  sycamore,  we  shall  go 
perfectly  straight,  of  course  ;  and  by  choosing  an 
other  tree  away  beyond  the  sycamore  and  in  line 
with  it,  just  before  we  get  to  the  gum  tree,  we 
shall  still  go  on  in  a  perfectly  straight  line. 
We  might  keep  that  up  for  any  distance,  and 
travel  in  as  straight  a  line  as  a  compass  can  mark. 
Now  if  this  country  was  an  open  one  with  no 
bogs  to  go  around,  and  nothing  to  keep  us  from 
going  straight  ahead,  I  shouldn't  need  any  assist 
ance,  but  could  go  on  in  a  straight  line  all  day 
long.  As  it  is,  I  must  establish  a  long  straight 
line,  reaching  as  far  ahead  as  possible,  and  then 
pick  out  two  things  in  the  line,  one  near  me  and 
one  at  the  far  end,  which  we  can  recognize  again 
from  any  point.  Then  we'll  go  on  by  the  best 
route  we  can  till  we  come  to  the  furthest  object, 
and  then  I'll  show  you  how  to  get  the  line  again. 
What  I  want  you  to  do  is  to  notice  the  '  object 


100  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

trees  '  as  we'll  call  them,  so  that  we  can  be  sure  of 
them  at  any  time.  Notice  them  in  starting,  and  as 
often  afterward  as  you  can  see  them.  The  ap 
pearance  of  trees  varies  with  distance  and  point  of 
view,  and  it  is  important  that  we  shall  be  sure  of 
our  object  trees  and  make  no  mistake  about  them." 

"  All  right,  Captain  Sam,"  cried  the  boys, "  pick 
out  your  object  trees." 

"  Well,"  said  Sam,  "  the  big  sycamore  yonder 
will  do  for  one,  and  that  tall  leaning  pine  away 
over  there  almost  out  of  sight  must  do  for  the  oth 
er.  That  is  in  our  line,  and  what  we've  got  to  do 
is  to  get  to  it.  It  doesn't  matter  by  how  crooked 
a  route,  if  we  can  remember  the  sycamore  tree 
again  and  pick  it  out  from  there." 

"  We'll    watch  'em   captain,  and  we  won't  let 
'em  slip  away  from  us,"  said  Sid  Russell. 
>      "  Thank  you,  boys,"  replied  Sam  ;  "  I  shall  be 
so  busy  picking  our  way,  that  I  can't  watch  them 
very  well.     Now  then,  we're  ready,  come  on." 


HOW  TO  HAVE  A  "LONG  HEAD" 


CHAPTER  XII. 

HOW   TO    HAVE    A  "LONG    HEAD." 

WO  hours  steady  walking,  over  logs  and 
brush,  through  canebrakes,  across  a 
creek,  and  through  a  tangle  of  vines, 
brought  the  party  to  the  leaning  pine  tree.  From 
that  point  the  old  sycamore  tree  looked  not  at  all 
as  it  did  from  the  point  of  starting.  The  boys 
had  taken  pains  to  watch  its  changes  of  appearance, 
however,  and  were  able  to  point  it  out  with  cer 
tainty  to  Sam. 

"  But  what's  the  good  of  knowing  it  now  ? " 
asked  Sid  Russell,  "  we  aint  a  goin'  back  that  way 
agin'." 

"  No,"  said  Sam,  "  but  it  is  necessary  to  know 
it,  nevertheless.  How  would  you  know  which  way 
to  go  without  it,  Sid  ? " 

"Well,  I'd  pick  out  another  tree  ahead  an' 
walk  towards  it." 


102  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  Well,  but  how  would  you  know  what  tree  to 
select  ? " 

"  Why  I'd  take  one  in  a  line  with  the  pine." 

"  Well,  every  tree  is  in  a  line  with  the  pine.  It 
depends  on  where  you  stand  to  take  sight." 

"  That's  so ;  but  how's  the  old  sycamore  to 
help  us  ? " 

"  By  giving  us  a  point  to  take  sight  from.  Let 
me  show  you.  Our  proper  course  of  march  is  in 
the  direction  of  a  line  drawn  from  the  sycamore 
to  this  pine  tree.  What  we  want  to  do  is  to  pro 
long  that  line,  and  find  some  tree  further  on  that 
stands  in  it.  If  I  stand  on  the  line,  between  the 
sycamore  and  the  pine  and  turn  my  face  toward 
the  pine,  I'll  be  looking  in  exactly  the  right  direc 
tion,  and  can  pick  out  the  right  tree  to  march  to, 
by  sighting  on  the  pine.  The  trouble  is  to  get  in 
the  right  place  to  take  sight  from.  To  do  that 
I  must  find  the  line  between  the  sycamore  and  the 
pine.  Now  you  go  over  there  beyond  the  pine,  and 
take  sight  on  it  at  the  sycamore  till  you  get  the 
two  trees  in  a  line  with  you.  Then  I'll  stand  over 
here,  between  the  two  object  trees,  and  move  to 
the  right  or  left  as  you  tell  me  to  do,  till  you  find 


HOW  TO  HAVE  A  "LONG  HEAD."  103 

that  I  am  exactly  in  the  line  between  them.  Then 
I  can  pick  out  the  right  tree  ahead." 

Sid  did  as  he  was  told,  the  boys  all  looking  on 
with  great  interest,  and  presently  Sam  had  select 
ed  their  next  object  tree.  The  boys  were  aston 
ished  greatly  at  what  they  thought  Sam's  marvel 
lous  knowledge,  but  to  their  wondering  comments 
Sam  replied  : — 

"  I  haven't  done  anything  wonderful.  A  little 
knowledge  of  mathematics  has  helped  me,  per 
haps,  but  there  is'nt  a  thing  in  all  this  that  isn't 
perfectly  simple.  Any  one  of  you  might  have 
found  out  all  this  for  himself,  without  books  and 
without  a  teacher.  It  only  requires  you  to  think 
a  little  and  to  use  your  eyes.  Besides  you've  all 
done  the  same  thing  many  a  time." 

"  I'll  bet  I  never  did,"  said  Billy  Bowlegs. 

"  Yes  you  have,  Billy,  but  you  did  it  without 
thinking  about  it." 

"When?" 

"  Whenever  you  have  shot  a  rifle  at  anything." 

"How?" 

"  By  taking  aim.  You  look  through  one  sight 
over  the  other  and  at  the  game,  and  you  know  then 


104  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

that  you've  got  it  in  a  line  with  your  eye  and  the 
sights.  I've  only  been  turning  the  thing  around, 
and  nobody  taught  me  how.  You've  only  got  to 
use  your  eyes  and  your  head  to  make  them  worth 
ten  times  as  much  to  you  as  they  are  now." 

"Seems  to  me,"  said  Sid  Russell,  "as  if  your 
head  'n  eyes,  or  least  ways  your  head  is  a  mighty 
oncommon  good  one." 

"  You're  right  dah,  Mas'  Sid,"  said  Black  Joe  ; 
"  you're  right  for  sartain.  I'se  dun  see  Mas'  Sam 
do  some  mighty  cur'ous  things,  I  is.  He  dun 
make  a  fire  wid  water  once,  sho's  you're  born. 
'Sides  dat,  I'se  dun  heah  de  gentlemen  say's  how 
he's  got  a  head  more  'n  a  yard  long,  and  I'm  blest 
if  I  don't  b'lieve  it's  so." 

All  this  was  said  at  a  little  distance  from  Sam 
and  beyond  his  hearing,  but  he  knew  very  well  in 
•what  estimation  his  companions  held  him,  and  he 
was  anxious  to  impress  them,  not  with  his  own 
superiority,  but  with  the  fact  that  the  difference 
•was  due  chiefly  to  his  habit  of  thinking  and  ob 
serving.  He  wanted  them  to  improve  by  associa 
tion  with  him,  and  to  that  end  he  took  pains  to 
show  them  the  advantage  which  a  habit  of  observ. 


HOW  TO  HAVE  A  "LONG  HEAD.  105 

ing  everything  and  thinking  about  it  gives  its  pos 
sessor.  For  this  reason  he  took  pains  to  make  no 
display  of  his  knowledge  of  Latin  or  of  anything 
else  which  they  had  no  chance  to  learn.  He  want 
ed  them  to  learn  to  use  their  eyes,  their  ears  and 
their  heads,  knowing  very  well  that  the  greater  as 
well  as  the  better  part  of  education  comes  by  ob 
servation  and  thinking,  rather  than  from  books. 

Just  now  he  was  striding  forward  as  rapidly  as 
he  could,  as  it  was  beginning  to  rain. 

"  Keep  your  eye  on  the  hind  sight  boys,  and 
don't  lose  it,"  he  cried ;  "  we  must  hurry  or  we 
shall  be  caught  in  a  pocket  to-night." 

Hour  after  hour  they  marched,  the  rain  pour 
ing  down  steadily,  and  the  ground  becoming  every 
moment  softer.  The  walking  wearied  them  terri 
bly,  but  they  pushed  on  in  the  hope  that  they 
might  be  able  to  cross  the  upper  waters  of  the 
Nepalgah  river  before  night.  This  would  place 
them  on  the  west  bank  of  that  stream,  where 
Sam  believed  that  he  should  find  the  marching 
tolerable.  If  they  should  fail  in  this,  Sam  feared 
that  the  water  would  rise  durinaf  the  ni^ht,  and  fill 

O  O          ' 

all  the  bottom  lands.     In  that  event  he  must  con- 


106  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

tinue  marching  down  the  east  bank  of  the  river ; 
not  going  very  far  out  of  his  way,  it  is  true,  but 
having  to  pass  through  what  he  was  satisfied  must 
be  a  much  more  difficult  country  than  that  on  the 
other  side. 

Night  came  at  last,  and  they  were  yet  not  with 
in  sight  of  the  stream,  notwithstanding  their  utmost 
exertions.  Sam  called  a  halt  just  before  dark, 
and  selected  a  camping  place. 


WHA  T  DOES  SAM  MEAN?  j 07 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

WHAT     DOES     SAM     MEAN? 

HEN  the  halt  was  called,  Sam  said,  very 
much  to  the  astonishment  of  the  boys : — 
"  We  must  build  a  house  here,  boys  " 

"  A  house  !  "  exclaimed  Tom,  "  What  for, 
pray  ? " 

"  To  live  in,  of  course.  What  else  are  houses 
for  ? " 

"  Yes,  of  course,  but  aren't  we  going  on  ?  " 

"  Not  at  present,  and  it  rains.  We  must  dry 
our  clothes  to-night  if  we  can,  and  keep  as  dry  as 
we  can  while  we  stay  here,  which  may  be  for  a  day 
or  two.  To  do  that  we  must  have  a  house,  but  it 
need  not  be  a  very  good  one.  Joe !  " 

"Yes,  sah." 

"  Build  a  fire  right  here." 

"  Agin  de  big  log  dah,  Mas  Sam  ?  "  pointing 


108  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

to  the  trunk  of  a  great  tree  which  had  fallen  in 
some  earlier  storm. 

"  No,  build  it  right  here.  Sid,  you  and  Bob 
Sharp  go  down  into  the  canebrake  there  and  get 
two  or  three  dozen  of  the  longest  canes  you  can 
find." 

"  Green  ones  ? "  asked  Bob. 

"  Green  or  dry,  it  doesn't  matter  in  the  least," 
answered  Sam.  "  The  rest  of  you  boys  go  down 
into  the  swamp  off  there 'and  cut  a  lot  of  the  pal- 
metes  you  find  there, — this  sort  of  thing,"  point 
ing  to  one  of  the  plants  which  grew  at  his  feet. 
"  Get  as  many  of  them  as  you  can,  the  more  the 
better.  The  fire  will  be  burning  presently  and 
will  throw  a  light  all  around." 

The  boys  were  puzzled,  but  they  hurried  away 
to  the  work  assigned  them.  Sam  busied  himself 
digging  a  trench  on  the  side  of  the  fallen  tree  op 
posite  the  fire.  The  great  branches  of  the  tree 
held  it  up  many  feet  from  the  ground  at  the  point 
selected,  and  it  was  Sam's  purpose  to  make  the 
trunk  the  front  of  his  house,  building  behind  it, 
and  having  the  fire  in  front.  The  lower  part  of 
the  trunk  was  high  enough  from  the  ground  to 


WHA  T  DOES  SAM  MEAN?  109 

let  all  the  boys,  except  Sid  Russell,  pass  under 
without  stooping ;  Sid  had  to  stoop  a  little. 

The  fire  blazed  presently,  and  by  the  time  that 
Sam  had  his  ditch  done  the  boys  began  to  come 
in  with  loads  of  cane  and  palmetes.  The  pal- 
metes  are  plants  out  of  which  what  we  call  "palm-leaf 
fans  "  are  made.  They  grow  in  bunches  right  out  of 
the  ground  in  many  southern  swamps.  Each  leaf  is 
simply  a  palm  leaf  fan  that  needs  ironing  out  flat, 
except  that  the  edge  consists  of  long  points  which 
are  cut  off  in  making  the  fans. 

Sam  cut  two  forked  sticks  and  drove  them  in 
the  ground  about  ten  feet  from  the  fallen  tree 
trunk,  and  about  ten  feet  apart.  When  driven  in 
they  were  about  five  feet  high,  while  the  top  of 

the  trunk  was  perhaps  eight  feet  from  the  ground. 

« 
Cutting  a  long,  straight  pole,  Sam  laid  it  in  the 

forks  of  his  two  stakes,  parallel  with  the  tree 
trunk.  Then  taking  the  canes  he  laid  them  from 
this  pole  to  the  top  of  the  tree  trunk,  for  rafters,  plac 
ing  them  as  close  to  each  other  as  possible.  On 
top  of  them  he  laid  the  palmete  leaves,  taking 
care  to  lap  them  over  each  other  like  shingles. 
When  the  roof  was  well  covered  with  them,  he 


1 1 0  CAP  TAIN  SAM. 

made  the  boys  bring  some  armfuls  of  the  long 
gray  moss  which  abounds  in  southern  forests,  and 
lay  it  on  top  of  the  roof,  to  hold  the  palmete 
leaves  in  place,  and  to  prevent  them  from  blowing 
away.  For  sides  to  the  house  bushes  answered 
very  well,  and  in  less  than  an  hour  after  the  com 
pany  halted,  they  were  safely  housed  in  a  shed 
open  only  on  the  side  toward  the  fire,  and  the 
ground  within  was  rapidly  drying,  while  supper 
was  in  course  of  preparation. 

"  Sam,"  said  Tom  presently. 

"  Well,"  answered  Sam. 

"  What  did  you  dig  that  big  ditch  for  ?  a  little 
one  would  have  carried  off  all  the  water  that  '11  drip 
from  the  roof." 

"Yes,  but   I  dug  this   one   to   carry  off   other 
water  than  that." 

"What  water?" 

"  That  which  was  already  in  the  ground  that 
the  house  is  built  on.  You  see  this  soil  is  largely 
composed  of  sand,  and  water  runs  out  of  it  very 
rapidly  if  it  has  any  where  to  run  to.  I  made  the 
ditch  for  it  to  run  into,  and  if  you'll  examine  the 
ground  here  you'll  find  that  my  trench  is  doing 
its  work  very  well  indeed." 


WHA  T  DOES  SAM  MEAN?  \  \  \ 

"  That's  a  fac',"  said  Sid  Russell,  feeling  of  the 
sand. 

"  I  say  Sam,"  said  Billy  Bowlegs,  squaring  him 
self  before  Sam,  with  arms  akimbo. 

"  Well,  say  it  then,"  replied  Sam,  laughing,  and 
assuming  a  similar  attitude. 

"  If  there  is  any  little  thing,  about  any  sort  o' 
thing,  that  you  don't  happen  to  know,  I  wish  you'd 
just  oblige  me  by  telling  me  what  it  is." 

"  I  haven't  time,  Billy,"  laughed  Sam,  "  the  list 
of  things  I  don't  know  is  too  long  to  begin  this 
late  in  the  evening." 

"  Well,  you've  made  me  feel  like  an  idiot  every 
day  since  we  started  on  this  tramp,  by  knowing 
all  about  things,  and  doing  little  things  that  any 
fool  ought  to  have  thought  of,  and  not  one  of  us 
fools  did." 

"  Come,  supper  is  ready,"  replied  Sam. 

After  supper  the  boys  busied  themselves  drying 
their  clothes  by  the  roaring  fire  of  pitch  pine  which 
blazed  and  crackled  in  front  of  the  tent,  making 
the  air  within  like  that  of  an  oven.  While  they 
they  were  at  it  they  fell  to  talking,  of  course,  and 
it  is  equally  a  matter  of  course  that  they  talked 


1 1 2  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

about  the  subject  which  was  uppermost  in  their 
minds.  They  knew  very  well  that  until  the  house 
was  built,  and  supper  over,  they  could  get  nothing 
out  of  Sam.  u  He  never  will  explain  anything  till 
every  body  is  ready  to  listen,"  said  Sid  Russell, 
who  had  become  one  of  Sam's  heartiest  admirers. 
Recognizing  the  truth  of  Sid's  observation,  the 
boys  had  tacitly  consented  to  postpone  all  ques 
tions  respecting  Sam's  plans  and  queer  manoeuvres 
until  after  supper,  when  there  was  time  for  him  to 
talk  and  for  them  to  listen.  Now  that  the  time 
had  come,  the  long  repressed  curiosity  broke  forth 
in  questions. 


SAM  CLEARS  UP  THE  MYSTERY. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

SAM    CLEARS    UP   THE    MYSTERY. 

OMMY  was  the  spokesman. 
"  Now  then,  Sam,"  he  said,  holding  out  his 
trowsers  toward    the  fire  to    dry  them, 
"tell  us  all  about  it." 

"  I  can't,"  replied  Sam. 

"Why  not?" 

"  Because  I  don't  know  all  about  it  myself." 

"Well,  what  do  you  mean  by  building  this 
shed?" 

"  Don't  call  it  a  shed,  Tom,"  said  Billy  Bow- 
legs,  "  it's  a  mansion,  and  these  are  our  broad  acres 
all  around  here." 

"  Yes,  and  the  alligators  down  in  the  swamp 
there  are  our  cattle,"  said  Sam. 

"  And  here's  our  fowls,"  said  Billy,  slapping  at 
the  mosquitoes,  "  game  ones  they  are  too,  ain't 
they?" 


II4  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  Stop  your  nonsense,"  said  Sid  Russell,  "  I 
want  to  hear  Sam's  explanation.  Tell  us,  Sam, 
what  did  you  build  the  shanty  for  ?  " 

"  To  live  in  while  it  rains,  to  be  sure." 

"  Yes,  but  how  long  are  we  going  to  stay 
here?" 

"  I  don't  know." 

"  Well  then,  why  are  we  to  stop  here  at  all  ? " 
asked  Tom,  "  and  what  have  you  been  thinking 
about  all  the  afternoon  ?  You  didn't  open  your 
head  after  it  began  raining,  until  we  got  here  ;  you 
were  working  out  something,  and  this  halt  means 
that  you've  worked  it  out.  What  is  it  ?  That's 
what  we  want  to  know." 

"  You're  partly  right,"  said  Sam,  laughing, 
"  but  you're  partly  wrong.  I  have  been  thinking 
.how  to  get  out  of  this  pocket  we're  caught  in,  and 
I've  partly  worked  it  out,  but  not  entirely.  That 
is  to  say,  I  must  wait  till  morning  before  I  can  say 
precisely  what  I  shall  have  to  do.  Let  me  show 
you  where  we  are ;  "  and  with  that  Sam  took  out 
his  map  and  spread  it  on  the  ground  before  him, 
while  the  boys  clustered  around. 

"  Here  we  are,"  pointing  to  a  spot  on  the  map, 


SAM  CLEANS  UP  THE  MYSTERY.  115 

"  near  the  Nepalgah  river,  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
peninsula  it  makes  with  the  Patsaliga  and  the 
Connecuh  rivers.  You  see  the  Patsaliga  and  the 
Nepalgah  both  run  into  the  Connecuh,  their 
mouths  being  not  many  miles  apart.  This  penin 
sula  that  we're  on  is  low,  swampy,  and  full  of 
creeks,  a  little  lower  down.  This  heavy  rain  will 
raise  all  the  rivers  and  all  the  creeks,  and  make 
them  spread  out  all  over  the  low  grounds  on 
both  sides.  The  land  is  higher  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Nepalgah  river,  and  it  was  my  plan  to  cross 
over  to-day,  but  when  this  rain  came  on  I 
began  to  think  it  not  at  all  likely  that  we 
could  get  to  the  river  before  night,  and 
then  I  began  to  lay  plans  for  use  in  case  of  a 
failure." 

"  That's  what  you've  been  puzzling  over  all  the 
afternoon,  then  ?  "  said  Bob  Sharp. 

"  Yes.  I've  been  wondering  what  we  should 
do,  and  trying  to  hit  upon  some  plan.  You  see 
the  matter  stands  thus  :  we  can't  go  on  on  this  side, 
that  is  certain  ;  the  river  will  be  out  of  its  banks 
to-morrow  morning,  and  we  can't  easily  get  across 
it;  and  if  we  were  across  it  would  still  be  difficult 


Il6  CAPTAIN  SAM, 

marching,  as  there  are  creeks  and  swamps  enough 
to  bother  us  over  there." 

"  What  are  we  to  do,  then  ? "  asked  Tommy, 
uneasily.  "  We  mustn't  go  back.  That'll  never 
do." 

"  Never  you  mind,  Tom,"  said  Sid  Russell, 
whose  faith  in  Sam's  fertility  of  resource  was  liter 
ally  boundless,  "  never  you  mind.  We  ain't  a  goin' 
back  if  the  Captain  knows  it.  He's  got  it  all  fix 
ed  somehow  in  his  head,  you  may  bet  your  bottom 
dollar.  Just  wait  till  he  explains." 

"  That's  so,"  said  Billy  Bowlegs,  "  only  it  seems 
to  me  he's  got  a  mighty  hard  sum  this  time,  an' 
if  he's  got  the  right  answer  I'd  like  to  see  just 
what  it  is." 

"  He's  got  it,  ain't  you,  Sam  ?  "  asked  Sid,  con 
fidently. 

"  I  believe  I  have,"  said  Sam. 

"  What  is  it  ? "  asked  all  the  boys  in  a  breath. 

"  Canoe,"  answered  Sam. 

"  To  cross  the  river  with  ?  that's  the  trick," 
said  Bob  Sharp. 

"  No,"  replied  Sam,  "  that  was  what  I  first 
thought  of ;  or  rather,  I  first  thought  of  building 


SAM  CLEARS  UP  THE  MYSTERY.  117 

some  sort  of  a  raft  to  cross  the  river  on,  and  then 
it  occurred  to  me  that  we  could  go  on  faster  on 
high  water  in  a  canoe  than  on  foot ;  so  my  notion 
is  to  dig  out  a  good  big  canoe  and  ride  all  the  way 
in  it."  ' 

"  Can  we  do  that  ? " 

"  Yes,  the  Nepalgah  river  runs  into  the  Conne- 
cuh,  and  the  Connecuh  into  the  Escambia,  and  the 
Escambia  runs  into  Escambia  Bay,  and  Escam 
bia  Bay  is  an  arm  of  Pensacola  Bay.  Here, 
look  at  it  on  the  map ;  you  see  it's  as  straight  a 
course  as  we  could  go  even  on  land,  or  pretty 
nearly." 

"  Well,  but  you  said  you  couldn't  tell  till  morn 
ing  about  it." 

"  I  can't.  I  am  not  absolutely  sure  where  we 
are,  but  I  think  we  are  within  a  very  short  distance 
of  the  river.  I  shall  look  in  the  morning,  and  if 
we  are,  we'll  dig  the  canoe  here,  or  rather,  we'll 
live  here  and  dig  the  canoe  down  by  the  river,  for 
it  must  be  a  big  one  to  carry  all  of  us,  and  we 
can't  carry  it  any  distance.  If  I  find  that  we  are 
not  as  near  the  river  as  I  suppose,  we  must  break 
up  here  and  find  a  camping  ground  further  on. 


Il8  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

At  all  events  we'll  dig  the  canoe  and  ride  in  it. 
The  rivers  will  be  high,  and  it  will  be  easy  travel 
ling  with  the  current,  while  there  won't  be  any 
danger  of  getting  the  fever  from  being  on  the 
water,  as  there  would  have  been  before  the  rain> 
when  the  water  was  low.  Come,  our  clothes  are 
dry  now  and  we  must  go  to  sleep,  as  we've  a  hard 
day's  work  before  us." 

"  How  long  will  it  take  to  dig  out  the  canoe  ?  " 
asked  Bob  Sharp. 

"  One  day,  I  hope,  but  it  may  take  as  much  as 
three.  Luckily  we've  killed  so  much  game  to-day, 
that  we  needn't  be  afraid  of  running  out  of  vict- 

O 

uals.     But  we  must  lose  no  time." 

"  Oh,  Sam — "  began  one  of  the  boys  after  all 
had  laid  down  for  the  night. 

"  I  won't  open  my  mouth  again  to-night,  except 
to  yawn,"  said  Sam,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the 
whole  party  were  asleep. 


A  FOREST  SHIP  YARD.  119 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A     FOREST    SHIP    YARD. 

AY  light  had  no  sooner  shown  itself  the 
next  morning  than  Sam  started  away 
from  the  camp  on  a  tour  of  observa 
tion.  He  was  a  fine  looking  fellow  as  he  strode 
through  the  woods,  straight  as  an  arrow,  broad 
shouldered,  brawny,  with  legs  that  seemed  all  the 
more  shapely  for  being  clothed  in  closely  fitting 
trowsers  that  were  thrust  into  his  long  boot  legs. 
Two  of  his  companions  watched  him  walk  away 
in  the  early  light. 

"  What  a  splendid  fellow  he  is,  outside  and  in 
side  !  "  said  Bob  Sharp,  half  to  himself  and  half  to 
Jake  Elliott,  who  stood  by  the  fire.  Jake  said 
nothing  and  Bob  was  left  to  guess  for  himself 
what  impression  their  stalwart  young  leader  had 
made  upon  that  moody  youth.  Meantime  Sam 


120  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

had  disappeared  in  the  forest.  He  walked  on  for 
a  little  way  when  he  came  to  a  creek,  a  small  one 
ordinarily,  scarcely  more  than  a  crooked  brook, 
but  swollen  now  to  considerable  size. 

"  This  may  do,"  he  said  to  himself.  "  At  all 
events  it  leads  to  the  river,  and  I  may  as  well  ex 
plore  it  as  I  go." 

Accordingly  he  followed  the  stream.  Mile 
after  mile  he  walked,  through  bottom  lands  that 
were  well  nigh  impassable  now,  never  losing  sight 
of  the  creek  until  he  reached  its  point  of  junction 
with  the  river.  It  was  still  raining,  but  Sam  per 
sisted  in  the  work  of  exploration  until  he  knew 
the  country  thoroughly  which  lay  between  his 
camp  and  the  river.  Then  he  returned,  not  weary 
with  his  four  hours'  walking,  but  very  decidedly 
hungry. 

Luckily,  Bob  Sharp's  enthusiastic  admiration 
for  his  leader  had  taken  a  very  prosaic  and  prac 
tical  turn.  It  was  Bob's  turn  to  prepare  breakfast, 
and  a  hare  was  to  be  cooked.  The  boys  wanted 
it  cut  up  and  fried,  but  Bob  remained  firm. 

"  No,  siree,"  he  said,  "  Captain  Sam's  gone  off 
to  look  out  for  us,  without  waiting  for  his  break- 


A  FOREST  SHIP  YARD.  121 

fast,  and  when  he  comes  back  he's  to  have  roast 
rabbit  for  breakfast,  and  his  pick  of  the  pieces 
at  that.  If  any  of  you  boys  want  fried  victuals 
you  may  go  and  kill  your  own  rabbits  and  fry 
them  for  yourselve*s,  or  you  may  cook  your 
bacon.  I  killed  this  game  myself,  and  nobody 
shall  eat  a  mouthful  of  it  till  Captain  Sam 
carves  it." 

The  boys  were  hungry,  but  they  agreed  with 
Bob,  when  he  thus  peremptorily  suggested  the  pro 
priety  of  awaiting  their  young  leader's  return,  and 
so  when  Sam  got  back,  about  ten  o'clock,  he  found 
a  hungry  company  and  a  beautifully  roasted  hare 
awaiting  him,  the  latter  hanging  by  a  string  to  a 
branch  of  an  over-hanging  tree  immediately  in 
front  of  the  fire. 

After  remonstrating  with  the  boys  in  a  good 
natured  way,  for  delaying  their  breakfast  so  long, 
Sam  carved,  as  Bob  had  put  it ;  that  is  to  say  he 
held  the  hare  by  a  hind  leg,  while  another  boy 
held  it  by  a  fore  leg,  and  with  their  jack  knives 
they  quickly  divided  it  into  pieces,  using  the  skillet 
for  a  platter. 

The  boys  were  not  so  hungry  that  they  could 


122  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

forget  their  curiosity  as  to  the  result  of  Sam's  ex 
ploration. 

"  Where  are  we,  Sam  ?  " 

"  Did  you  find  the  river?  " 

"Is  it  close  by?" 

These  and  half  a  dozen  similar  questions  were 
asked  in  rapid  succession. 

"  One  thing  at  a  time,"  said  Sam,  "  or,  better 
still,  listen  and  I'll  tell  you  all  about  it  without 
waiting  to  be  questioned." 

"  All  right,  any  way  to  get  the  -news  out  of 
you,"  said  Billy  Bowlegs. 

"  Well  then,"  said  Sam,  "  to  begin  with,  we're 
not  very  near  the  river.  It's  about  five  miles  away, 
as  nearly  as  I  can  judge." 

Billy  Bowlegs's  countenance  fell. 

"  Then  we  can't  make  the  canoe  here  after  all 
our  work  to  build  a  house." 

"  I  didn't  say  that,  Billy.  On  the  contrary,  I 
think  we  must  make  it  here,  as  there  is  no  fit  place 
for  a  camp  nearer  the  river  than  this.  Beside, 
the  river  will  be  out  of  its  banks  pretty  soon  if  the 
rain  continues,  and  will  overflow  all  the  low 
grounds." 


A  FOREST  SHIP  YARD.  ^3 

"  Then  we've  got  to  carry  the  canoe  five  miles ! 
We  can't  do  it,  that's  all,"  said  Jake  Elliott,  who 
had  not  spoken  before. 

Sam  looked  at  Jake  rather  sternly,  and  was 
about  to  make  him  a  sharp  answer,  but  changed 
his  mind  and  said  instead  : — 

"  You  and  Billy  are  in  too  big  a  hurry  to  draw 
conclusions,  Jake.  Billy  begins  by  assuming  that 
because  the  river  is  five  miles  away  we  can't  make 
the  canoe  here,  and  you  jump  to  the  conclusion 
that  if  we  make  it  here  we  must  carry  it  five  miles. 
The  fact  is,  you're  both  wrong.  We  can  make  it 
here,  and  we  needn't  carry  it  five  miles,  or  one 
mile,  or  half  a  mile." 

"  How's  that  ?  "  asked  Tom. 

"  Now  you're  in  a  hurry,  are  you  Tom  ?  I  was 
just  about  to  explain  and  only  stopped  to  swallow, 
but  before  I  could  do  it  you  pushed  a  question  in 
between  my  teeth." 

"SILENCE!"  roared  Billy  Bowlegs,  "the 
court  cannot  be  heard."  Billy's  father  was  sheriff 
of  his  county,  and  Billy  had  often  heard  him  make 
more  noise  in  commanding  silence  in  the  court 
room  than  the  room  full  of  people  were  making  by 
requiring  the  caution. 


124  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

Silence  succeeding  the  laughter  which  Billy's 
unfilial  mimicry  had  provoked,  Sam  resumed  his 
explanation. 

"  There's  a  creek  down  there  about  a  hundred 
yards,  which  runs  into  the  river.  It  is  a  small 
affair,  but  is  pretty  well  up  now,  and  my  plan  is  to 
make  the  canoe  here  and  paddle  her  down  the 
creek  to  the  river  while  the  water  is  high." 

"  Hurrah!  now  for  work  !  "  shouted  the  boys, 
who  by  this  time  had  finished  their  breakfast. 

"  Where's  your  timber,  Sam  ? "  asked  Tom, 
bringing  the  axes  and  adze  out  of  the  tent. 

Sam  had  taken  pains  to  select  a  proper  tree 
for  his  purpose,  a  gigantic  poplar  more  than  three 
feet  in  diameter,  which  lay  near  the  creek,  where 
it  had  fallen  several  years  before. 

When  the  boys  saw  it,  they  looked  at  Sam  in 
astonishment. 

"Why,  Sam,  you  don't  mean  to  work  that 
great  big  thing  into  a  dug-out,  do  you  ? "  asked 
Sid  Russell. 

"  Why  not,  Sid  ?  "  asked  Sam. 

"  Why,  its  bigger'n  a  dozen  dug-outs." 

"  Yes,  that  is  true,  but  we're  not  going  to  make 


A  FOREST  SHIP  YARD.  I25 

an  ordinary  canoe.  We're  going  to  cut  out  some 
thing  as  nearly  like  a  yawl,  or  a  ship's  launch  as 
possible.  She  is  to  be  sixteen  feet  long,  and  three 
and  a  quarter  feet  wide  amidships." 

Sam  had  learned  a  good  deal  about  boats  dur 
ing  his  boyhood  in  Baltimore. 

"  Whew  !  what  do  you  want  such  a  whopper 
for?" 

"  Well,  in  the  first  place  such  a  boat  will  be  of 
use  to  us  down  at  Pensacola,  where  we  couldn't 
use  an  ordinary  canoe  at  all.  You  see  I'm  going 
to  shape  her  like  a  sea  boat,  partly  by  cutting 
away,  and  partly  by  pinning  a  keel  to  her." 

"  What'll  you  pin  it  on  with?  "  asked  Tom. 

"  With  pins,  of  course  ;  wooden  ones." 

"What'll  you  bore  the  holes  with?  " 

"  With  my  bit  of  iron,  heated  red  hot" 

"  That's  so.     So  you  can." 

"  But,  Sam,"  said  Sid. 

"Well?" 

"  You  said  that  was  in  the  first  place ;  what's 
the  next  ? " 

"  In  the  next  place,  we'll  need  such  a  boat  in 
running  down  the  river." 


126  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

•  Why  ?  " 

"  Because  there'll  be  no  fit  camping  places  in 
the  low  grounds,  even  if  the  water  isn't  over  the 
banks,  and  so  we  must  stay  in  the  boat  night  and 
day,  which  would  be  rather  an  uncomfortable 
thing  to  do  in  a  little  round  bottomed  dug-out, 
that  would  turn  over  if  a  fellow  nodded.  Beside 
that  I'm  anxious  to  make  all  the  time  I  can  and 
when  we  leave  here  I  mean  to  push  ahead  night 
and  day  without  stopping." 

"  How'll  we  manage  without  eatin'  or  sleepin'  ?  " 
asked  Jake  Elliott,  who  seemed  somehow  to  be  in 
terested  chiefly  in  discovering  what  appeared  to 
him  to  be  insurmountable  obstacles  in  the  way  of 
the  execution  of  Sam's  plans. 

"  I  have  no  thought,"  answered  Sam,  "  of  try 
ing  to  do  without  either  eating  or  sleeping." 

"  Where'll  we  eat,"  asked  Jake,  "  ef  we  don't 
stop  nowhere  ?  " 

"  In  the  boat,  of  course." 

"  Yes,  but  where'll  we  cook  ?  " 

"  Here,"  answered  Sam. 

"  Before  we  start  ? " 

"  Yes,  certainly.     We'll  kill  some  game,  cook 


A  FOREST  SHIP  YARD.  I2/ 

it  at  night  and  eat  it  cold  on  the  way  with  cold 
bread.  That  will  save  our  bacon  to  cook  fish  with 
down  at  Pensacola." 

"  Well,  but  how  about  sleeping  ? " 

"  That  is  one  of  my  reasons  for  making  so 
large  a  boat.  We  can  sleep  in  her  very  comfort 
ably,  one  staying  awake  to  steer  and  paddle,  all  of 
us  taking  turns  at  it." 

This  plan  was  eagerly  welcomed  by  the  boys, 
who  speedily  fell  to  work  upon  the  log  under 
Sam's  direction.  The  poplar  was  very  easily 
worked,  and  the  boys  were  all  of  them  skilled  in 
the  use  of  the  axes.  Relieving  each  other  at  the 
work,  they  did  not  permit  it  to  cease  for  a  mo 
ment,  and  in  half  an  hour  the  trunk  of  the  tree 
was  severed  in  two  places,  giving  them  a  log  of 
the  desired  length  to  work  on. 

Then  began  the  work  of  hewing  it  into  shape, 
and  this  admitted  of  four  boys  working  at  once, 
two  with  the  axes,  one  with  the  adze  and  one  with 
the  hatchet.  When  night  came  the  log  had  al 
ready  assumed  the  shape  of  a  rude  boat,  turn 
ed  bottom  up,  and  Sam  was  more  than  satis- 

» 

fied  with  the  progress  made.     His  comrades  were 


128  CAP  TAIN  SAM. 

enthusiastic,  however,  and  insisted  upon  building 
a  bonfire  and  working  for  an  hour  or  two  by  its 
light,  after  supper.  They  could  not  work  at  shap 
ing  it  by  such  a  light,  but  they  turned  it  over  and 
hewed  the  side  which  was  to  be  dug  out,  down  to 
a  level  with  its  future  gunwales.  The  next  day 
they  began  work  early,  and  when  they  quitted  it 
at  night  their  task  was  done.  The  boat  was  a 
rude  affair  but  reasonably  well  shaped,  broad,  so 
that  she  drew  very  little  water  considering  her 
weight,  and  with  a  keel  which  kept  her  perfectly 
steady  in  the  water. 


SAM  PLA  YS  THE  PART  OF  A  SKIPPER. 


I2Q 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

CAPTAIN    SAM    PLAYS   THE    PART   OF   A    SKIPPER. 

HE  launching  of  the  boat  was  easy 
enough,  and  she  rode  beautifully  on  the 
water.  To  test  her  capacity  to  remain 
right  side  up,  Sam  put  the  boys  one  by  one  on  her 
gunwale,  and  found  that  their  combined  weight, 
thrown  as  far  as  possible  to  one  side,  was  barely 
sufficient  to  make  her  take  water. 

The  stores  were  stowed  carefully  in  the  bow 
and  stern ;  rough  seats  were  fitted  in  after  the 
manner  of  a  boat's  thwarts,  but  not  fastened.  They 
were  left  moveable  for  the  purpose  of  making  it 
possible  for  several  of  the  boys  to  lie  down  in  the 
bottom  of  the  boat  at  once.  There  was  no  rud 
der  as  yet,  although  it  was  Sam's  purpose  to  fix 
one  to  the  stern  as  soon  as  possible,  and  also  to 
make  a  mast  when  they  should  get  to  Pensacola, 


1 30  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

where  a  sail  could  be  procured.  For  the  present 
two  long  poles  and  some  rough  paddles  were  their 
propelling  power. 

"  When  we  get  out  into  the  river,"  said  Sam, 
"  she  will  float  pretty  rapidly  on  the  high  water, 
and  we  need  only  use  the  paddles  to  give  her 
steerage,  and  to  paddle  her  out  of  eddies." 

"  What  are  the  poles  for  ?  "  asked  Tom. 

"  To  push  her  in  shoal  water,  for  one  thing," 
answered  Sam,  "  and  to  fend  off  of  banks  and 
trees." 

A  large  quantity  of  the  long  gray  moss  of 
the  swamps  was  stored  in  the  bottom  for  bedding 
purposes,  and  the  boat  was  ready  for  her  passen 
gers.  One  by  one  they  took  their  places,  Sam  in 
the  bow,  and  the  voyage  down  the  creek  began. 
This  stream  was  very  crooked,  and  many  fallen 
trees  interrupted  its  course,  so  that  it  was  very 
difficult  to  navigate  it  with  so  long  a  boat.  In  ad 
dition  to  this,  the  river  had  risen  much  faster  than 
the  creek,  and  the  back  water  had  entirely  de 
stroyed  the  creek's  current,  so  that  the  boat  must 
.be  pushed  and  paddled  every  inch  of  the  way. 

Nearly  the  entire  day  was  consumed  in  getting 


SAM  PLAYS  THE  PART  OF  A  SKIPPER.      I3i 

to  the  river,  five  miles  away  from  the  starting 
place,  and  as  the  afternoon  waned  the  boys  grew 
tired,  while  Jake  Elliott  began  to  manifest  his  old 
disposition  to  criticise  Sam's  plans. 

"  May  be  we'll  make  five  mile  a  day,  an'  may 
be  we  wont,"  he  said.  "  We'll  git  to  Pensacola  in 
six  or  eight  weeks,  I  s'pose,  if  we  don't  starve  by 
the  way,  an'  if  this  water  runs  that  way." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Sam,  "  the  longer  we  are  on 
the  route  the  better  it  will  please  you,  Jake." 

"  Why  ?  " 

"  Because  you  don't  want  to  get  there  at  all. 
But  we'll  be  there  sooner  than  you  think  ?  " 

"  How  long  do  you  reckon  it  will  take  us, 
Sam  ?  "  asked  Billy. 

"  I  don't  know,  because  I  don't  know  how  long 
we'll  be  getting  out  of  this  creek." 

"  Well,  I  mean  after  we  get  into  the  river." 

"About  a  day  and  a  half,"  replied  Sam,  "pos 
sibly  less." 

"  You  don't  mean  it  ?  " 

"  Don't  I  ?     What  do  I  mean,  then  ? " 

"  How  far  is  it  ?  " 

"  Less  than  a  hundred  miles." 


132  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  Well,  we  can't  go  a  hundred  miles  in  a 
day  and  a  half." 

"  Can't  we  ?  I  think  we  can.  We'll  run  day 
and  night,  you  know,  and  the  current,  at  this  stage 
of  the  water,  can't  be  much  less  than  five  miles  an 
hour.  Four  miles  an  hour  will  take  us  ninety-six 
miles  in  twenty-four  hours." 

"  Hurrah  for  Captain  Sam  !  "  shouted  Sid  Rus 
sell,  "  Yonder's  the  river,  an'  she's  a  runnin'  like  a 
mill  tail,  too." 

Sid  was  standing  up,  and  his  great  length  lift 
ed  his  head  high  enough  to  permit  him  to  see  the 
rapidly  running  stream  long  before  any  one  else 
did.  The  rest  strained  their  eyes,  or  rather  their 
necks  trying  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  stream,  but 
the  undergrowth  of  the  swamp  lay  between  them 
and  the  sight.  Sid's  announcement  put  new  en 
ergy  into  them,  however,  and  they  plied  their  pad 
dles  vigorously  for  ten  minutes,  when,  with  a  sud 
den  swing  around  a  last  curve  of  the  creek,  Sam 
brought  his  boat  fairly  out  into  the  river,  and  turn 
ed  her  head  down  stream.  The  river  was  full  to 
its  banks,  and  in  places  it  had  already  overflowed. 
The  current  was  so  strong  that  the  mouth  of  the 


SAM  PLAYS  THE  PART  OF  A  SKIPPER.      I33 

creek,  out  of  which  they  had  come,  was  out  of 
sight  in  a  very  few  minutes.  Work  with  the  pad 
dles  was  suspended,  Sam  only  dipping  his  into  the 
water  occasionally  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the 
boat  straight  in  mid-channel.  The  river  was  full 
of  drift-wood,  some  of  it  consisting  of  large  logs 
and  uprooted  trees,  and  night  was  already  falling. 
Jake  Elliott  now  spoke  again. 

"  We  ain't  a  goin'  to  try  to  run  in  the  dark  in 
all  this  'ere  drift,  are  we  ? "  he  asked. 

"  I  can't  say  that  we  are,"  replied  Sam. 

"  Why,  you're  not  going  to  stop  for  the  night, 
are  you,  Sam  ?  "  asked  Billy  Bowlegs,  who  was 
enjoying  the  boat  ride  greatly. 

"  Certainly  not,"  replied  Sam. 

"  Why,  you  said  you  was,  jist  a  minute  ago," 
muttered  Jake  Elliott. 

"  Oh,  no !  I  didn't,"  said  Sam,  whose  patience 
had  been  sorely  taxed  already  by  Jake's  persistent 
disposition  to  find  fault. 

"  What  did  you  say,  then  ? "  asked  that 
worthy. 

"  Merely  that  we're  not  going  to  try  to  run  in 
the  dark  to-night." 


134  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  Well,  you're  a  goin'  to  stop  then  ?  " 

"  No,  I  am  not." 

"  I  see  how  dat  is,"  said  Joe,  suddenly  catch 
ing  an  idea. 

"Well,  explain  it  to  Jake,  then,"  said  Sam 
laughing. 

"  W'y,  Mas'  Jake,  don't  you  see  de  moon's 
gwine  to  shine  bright  as  day,  an'  so  dey  ain't  a 
gwine  to  be  no  dark  to-night." 

"  That's  it,  Joe,"  replied  Sam,  "  but  if  there  was 
no  moon  I'd  still  go  on.  The  drift  isn't  in  the 
least  dangerous." 

"  Why  not,  Sam  ?  "  asked  Tom. 

"  Well,  in  the  first  place,  it  wouldn't  be  very 
easy  to  knock  a  hole  in  such  a  boat  as  this  any 
how,  and  as  we're  only  floating,  we  go  exactly  with 
the  drift  nearest  us;  we  go  faster  than  the  drift 
in  by  the  shore  there,  because  we're  in  the  strong 
est  part  of  the  current,  but  the  drift  nearest  us  is 
in  the  same  current,  and  moves  as  fast  as  we  do, 
or  pretty  nearly  so.  My  paddling  adds  something 
to  our  speed,  but  not  much.  I  only  paddle  enough 
to  keep  the  boat  straight  in  the  channel.  If  we 
were  to  stop  against  the  bank,  and  fasten  the  boat 


SAM    PLAYS   THE    PART    OK    SKIPPER. 


SAM  PLAYS  THE  PART  OF  A  SKIPPER.      ^5 

there,  the  drift  would  bump  us  pretty  badly,  but 
it  can  do  us  no  harm  so  long  as  we  float  along 
with  it." 

The  moon,  nearly  at  its  full,  was  rising  now, 
and  very  soon  the  river  became  a  picture.  Run 
ning  rapidly,  bank  full,  with  tall  trees  bending  over 
and  throwing  their  shadows  across  it,  with  here 


water,  while  the  dense  undergrowth  of  the  woods, 
lying  in  shadow,  gave  the  stream  a  margin  of  inky 
blackness  on  each  side, — it  was  a  scene  to  stimu 
late  the  imaginations  of  the  group  of  healthy  boys 
who  sat  in  the  boat  gliding  silently  but  swiftly 
down  the  river. 

Hour  after  hour  they  sped  on,  not  a  boy 
among  them  in  the  least  disposed  to  avail  him 
self  of  Sam's  permission  to  lie  down  for  a  nap 
on  the  moss  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat.  Every 
bend  of  the  river  gave  them  a  new  picture  to 
look  at,  and  finally  Sam  had  to  use  authority  to 
make  the  boys  lie  down. 

"  We  must  all  sleep  some,"  he  said,  "  for  to 
morrow  the  sun  will  shine  too  strong  for  sleeping, 
and  we've  done  a  hard  day's  work.  It  will  be  now 


I36  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

about  seven  or  eight  hours  until  sunrise,  and  there 
are  just  seven  of  us.  It  will  take  half  an  hour  for 
the  rest  of  you  to  get  to  sleep,  and  so  I'll  run  the 
boat  for  an  hour  and  a  half.  Then  I'll  wake  Billy, 
and  he  can  run  it  an  hour.  Then  Joe  must  take 
the  paddle, — his  name  is  Butler,  you  see, — and  so 
on  in  alphabetical  order,  each  of  you  taking  charge 
for  an  hour.  If  anything  happens, — if  you  get 
into  an  eddy,  or  for  any  other  reason  find  your 
selves  in  doubt  about  anything,  wake  me  at  once. 
Now  go  to  sleep." 

Sam  took  the  first  watch,  because  he  wished 
to  see,  before  going  to  sleep,  that  everything  was 
likely  to  go  well.  Then  he  waked  Billy  Bowlegs, 
and,  surrendering  the  paddle  to  him,  went  to  sleep. 

There  was  no  noise  to  disturb  any  one,  and  all 
the  boys  slept  soundly,  none  of  them  more  sound 
ly  than  Sam,  who  had  worked  especially  hard  dur 
ing  the  day,  and  had  had  a  weight  of  responsibili 
ty  upon  him  during  the  difficult  voyage  down  the 
creek.  He  was  quietly  sleeping  some  hours  later 
when  suddenly  the  boat  was  sharply  jarred,  and 
turned  very  nearly  on  her  side,  while  the  water 
could  be  heard  surging  around  her  bow  and  stern. 


SAM  PLA  YS  THE  PART  OF  A  SKIPPER.      ^7 

Sam  was  on  his  feet  in  a  moment,  and  the 
other  boys  sprang  up  quickly. 

"  Who's  at  the  oar  ?  "  cried  Sam,  "  and  what's 
the  matter  ? " 

"  We've  got  tangled  in  the  drift,  just  as  I  told 
you  we  would,"  answered  Jake  Elliott  from  the 
bow,  where  he  sat,  paddle  in  hand,  he  being  on 
watch  at  the  time. 

"  Just  as  you  meant  that  we  should,"  answered 
Sam.  "  You've  deliberately  paddled  us  out  of  the 
current  into  a  drift  hammock,  you  sneaking  scoun 
drel,"  continued  Sam,  now  thoroughly  angry,  seiz 
ing  Jake  by  the  shoulders,  and  throwing  him  vio 
lently  into  the  bottom  of  the  boat.  "  I  have  a 
notion  to  give  you  a  good  thrashing  right  here,  or 
to  set  you  ashore  and  go  on  without  you." 

"Do  it,  Captain!  Do  it!  He  deserves  it," 
cried  the  boys,  but  Sam  had  made  up  his  mind 
not  to  give  way  to  his  temper,  however  provoking 
Jake's  conduct  might  be,  and  as  soon  as  he  could 
master  himself,  he  renewed  his  resolution,  which 
had  been  broken  only  in  the  moment  of  sudden 
awakening. 

The  boat  was  not  damaged  in  the  least,  but 


138  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

her  position  was  a  difficult  one  from  which  to  ex- 
tricate  her.  She  lay  on  the  upper  side  of  a  pile 
of  drift  which  had  lodged  against  some  trees,  and 
a  floating  tree  had  swept  down  against  her  side, 
pinning  her  to  the  hammock,  as  such  drift  piles 
are  called  in  the  South.  The  work  of  freeing  her 
required  all  of  Sam's  judgment,  as  well  as  all  the 
boys'  strength,  but  within  half  an  hour,  or  a  little 
more,  the  boat  was  again  in  the  stream. 

"  Now,"  said  Sam,  speaking  very  calmly, "  we've 
lost  a  good  deal  of  sleep  and  must  make  it  up. 
Jake  Elliott,  you  will  take  the  paddle  again,  and 
keep  it  till  sunrise." 

"Well,  but  what  if  he  runs  us  into  another 
snarl  ?  "  asked  Sid  Russell,  uneasily. 

"  He  won't  make  any  more  mistakes,"  replied 
Sam. 

"  How  can  you  be  sure  of  that  ? "  queried 
Tom. 

"  Because  I  have  whispered  in  his  ear,"  said 
Sam. 

What  Sam  had  whispered  in  Jake's  ear  was 
this  :— 

"  If  any  further  accidents  happen  to-night,  F II 


SAM  PL  A  YS  THE  PART  OF  SKIPPER.         139 

put  you  ashore  in  the  swamp,  and  leave  you  there. 
I  mean  it" 

He  did  mean  it,  and  Jake  was  convinced  of 
the  fact.  He  knew  very  well,  too,  that  if  he  should 
be  left  there  in  the  swamp,  with  all  the  creeks  out 
of  their  banks,  the  chances  were  a  thousand  to 
one  against  his  success  in  getting  back  to  civiliza 
tion  again.  Sam's  threat  was  a  harsh  one,  but 
nothing  less  harsh  would  have  answered  his  pur 
pose,  and  he  knew  very  well  that  Jake  would  not 
dare  to  incur  the  threatened  penalty. 

The  boys  slept  again,  and  soundly.  The  night 
waned  and  day  dawned,  and.  still  the  current  car 
ried  them  forward.  They  breakfasted  in  the  boat, 
first  stripping  to  the  waist  and  sluicing  their  heads, 
necks,  arms  and  chests  with  water.  Breakfast  was 
scarcely  over  when  the  boat  shot  out  of  the  Ne- 
palgah  into  the  Connecuh  river,  whereat  the  boys 
gave  a  cheer.  About  noon  they  entered  the  Es- 
cambia  river,  and  their  speed  slackened.  Here 
they  had  met  the  influence  of  the  tide  which 
checked  the  force  of  the  current,  and  their  pro 
gress  grew  steadily  slower,  until  Sam  directed  the 
use  of  the  paddles.  They  had  long  since  left  the 


CAPTAIN  SAM. 

drift  wood  behind,  lodged  along  the  banks,  and 
they  had  now  a  broader  and  straighter  stream 
than  before,  although  it  was  still  not  very  broad 
nor  very  straight.  Two  boys  paddled  at  a  time, 
one  upon  each  side,  while  a  third  steered,  and  by 
relieving  each  other  occasionally  they  maintained 
a  very  good  rate  of  speed. 

The  moon  was  well  up  into  the  sky  again  when 
the  river  spread  out  into  Escambia  bay,  and  the 
boat  was  moored  with  a  grape  vine,  in  a  little  cove 
on  one  of  the  small  islands  in  the  upper  end  of  the 
bay,  about  fifteen  miles  above  Pensacola.  The 
boys  leaped  upon  land  again  gladly.  Their  voyage 
had  been  made  successfully,  and  they  were  at  last 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  danger  they  had  set 
out  to  encounter,  and  the  duty  they  had  under 
taken  to  do. 


THLUCCO.  141 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THLUCCO. 

HAT'S  your  plan  now,    Sam  ?  "    asked 
Tom,  when  the  boat  had  been  secured, 
and  a  fire  built. 
"  First   and  foremost,  where  are  we  ? "  asked 
Sid  Russell. 

"  Yes,  an'  how  fur  is  it  to  somewhere  else  ?  " 
questioned  Billy  Bowlegs. 

"An'  is  we  gwine  to  somewher's  or  somewher's 
else  ?  "  demanded  black  Joe,  with  a  grin. 

"  One  question  at  a  time,"  said  Sam,  "  and  they 
will  eo  a  srood  deal  farther." 

o  <_> 

"  Well,  begin  with  Sid's  question,  then  ?  "  said 
Tommy.  "  His  is  the  most  sensible ;  where  are 
we?" 

"  We're  on  an  island,"  returned  Sam,  "  and  the 
island  is  somewhere  here  in  the  upper  part  of  Es- 


I42  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

cambia  bay.  You  see  how  it  lies  on  our  map. 
The  bay  ends  down  there  in  Pensacola  bay,  and 
there  is  Pensacola,  about  fifteen  miles  away.  We 
came  here,  you  know,  to  find  out  what  is  going  on 
in  Pensacola  and  its  neighborhood,  and  my  plan 
is  to  run  down  past  the  town,  to  some  point  four 
or  five  miles  below,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Fort 
Barrancas.  There  I'll  set  up  a  fishing  camp,  but 
first  I  must  get  tackle,  and,  if  possible,  some  duck 
cloth  for  a  sail." 

At  this  point  the  conversation  was  interrupted 
by  the  sudden  appearance  of  a  canoe's  bow  in  their 
midst.  Their  fire  was  built  near  the  water's  edge, 
and  the  canoe  which  interrupted  them  had  been 
paddled  silently  to  the  bank,  so  that  its  bow  ex 
tended  nearly  into  their  fire. 

"  Ugh,  how  do,"  said  a  voice  in  the  canoe, 
"  how  do,  pale  faces,"  and  with  that  the  solitary  oc 
cupant  of  the  canoe  leaped  ashore  and  seated  him 
self  in  the  circle  around  the  fire. 

Joe  was  frightened,  but  the  other  boys  were 
reasonably  self-possessed. 

"  Injun  see  fire ;  Injun  come  see.  Injun 
friend." 


THLUCCO.  143 

"  White  man  friend,  too,"  said  Sam,  holding 
out  his  hand.  "  Injun  eat?  "  offering  the  visitor 
some  food. 

"  No.  Injun  eat  heap  while  ago.  Injun  no 
hungry,  but  Injun  friendly.  Fire  good.  Fire  warm 
Injun." 

Sam  continued  the  conversation,  desiring  to 
learn  whether  or  not  there  was  an  Indian  encamp 
ment  in  the  neighborhood.  He  was  not  afraid  of 
an  Indian  attack,  for  the  Indians  were  not  on  the 
war  path  in  Florida,  but  he  was  afraid  of  having 
his  boat  and  tools  stolen. 

"  Injun's  friends  over  there  ? "  asked  Sam, 
pointing  in  the  direction  from  which  the  canoe 
had  come. 

"  No ;  Injun's  friends  not  here.  You  know  In 
jun  ;  you  see  him  before  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Sam,  "  I  don't  remember  you." 

"  Injun  see  you,  all  same.    Injun  General  Jack 
son's  friend.     Injun  see  you  when  you  come  Gen 
eral  Jackson's  camp.     Me  go  way  then  for  Gener 
al  Jackson." 

Here  was  a  revelation.  The  young  savage 
was,  or  professed  to  be,  one  of  the  friendly  Indians 


144  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

whom  General  Jackson  was  using  as  scouts.  It 
was  certain  that  he  had  seen  Sam  on  his  entrance 
into  General  Jackson's  camp,  and  he  must  have 
left  immediately  after  Sam's  arrival  there. 

"  How  did  you  get  here  so  quick  ?  "  asked 
Sam. 

"  Me  run  'cross  country.     Injun  run  heap." 

"  Where  did  you  get  your  canoe  ?  " 

"  Steal  urn,"  answered  the  Indian  with  the  ut 
most  complacency. 

"  Have  you  been  here  before  ? " 

"  Yes.  Injun  fish  here  heap.  Injun  go  fishin' 
to-morrow." 

"  Where  will  you  get  lines  and  hooks." 

"  Me  got  urn." 

"  Where  did  you  get  them  ? " 

"  Steal  urn,"  answered  he  again. 

"  We're  going  fishing,  too,"  said  Sam. 

"  You  got  hooks  ?  You  got  lines  ?  You  got 
bait?" 

"  No,"  said  Sam. 

"  Injun  get  um  for  you." 

"  How?" 

"  Steal  um." 


THLUCCO.  145 

"  No,"  said  Sam,  "  you  mustn't  steal  for  us. 
I'll  go  to  Pensacola  and  buy  what  I  want  But 
you  may  go  with  us,  if  you  will,  and  show  us  where 
to  fish." 

"  Me  go.  Injun  show  you, — down  there," 
pointing  down  the  bay,  "  heap  fish  there." 

The  Indian,  Sam  was  disposed  to  think,  was  a 
valuable  acquisition,  although  he  was  not  disposed 
to  trust  him  with  a  knowledge  of  the  real  nature 
of  his  mission.  Warning  the  boys,  therefore,  not 
to  reveal  the  secret,  he  admitted  the  Indian,  whose 
name  was  Thluccd,  to  his  company,  not  as  a  mem 
ber,  but  as  a  sort  of  guide. 

The  next  morning  the  boat  went  down  the 
bay  to  the  town,  where  Sam  stopped  to  purchase 
certain  necessary  supplies,  chiefly  fishing  tackle 
and  the  materials  for  making  a  sail,  and  to  take 
observations. 

He  found  many  British  officers  and  soldiers 
lounging  around  the  town,  and  had  no  difficulty  in 
discovering  that  they  were  made  heartily  welcome 
by  the  Spanish  authorities,  notwithstanding  the 
professed  neutrality  of  Spain.  It  was  clear  enough 
that  while  the  Spaniards  were  at  peace  with  us, 


10 


146  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

they  were  permitting  our  enemy  to  make  their 
territory  his  base  of  supplies,  and  a  convenient 
starting  point  of  military  and  naval  operations 
against  us.  All  this  was  in  violation  of  every 
law  of  neutrality,  and  it  fully  justified  Jackson 
in  invading  Florida,  and  driving  the  British 
out  of  Pensacola,  as  he  did,  not  very  long  af 
terward. 

Sam  "  pottered  around,"  as  he  expressed  it, 
making  his  purchases  as  deliberately  as  possible, 
and  neglecting  no  opportunity  to  learn  what  he 
could,  with  eyes  and  ears  wide  open. 

In  an  open  square  he  saw  a  sight  which  aston 
ished  him  not  a  little.  Captain  Woodbine,  a  Brit 
ish  officer  in  full  uniform,  was  endeavoring  to  drill 

o 

a  band  of  Indians,  whom  he  had  dressed  in  red 
coats  and  trowsers.  A  more  ridiculous  perform 
ance  was  never  seen  anywhere,  and  only  an  of 
ficer  like  Captain  Woodbine,  who  knew  absolutely 
nothing  of  the  habits  and  character  of  the  Amer 
ican  Indian,  would  ever  have  thought  of  attempt 
ing  to  make  regularly  drilled  and  uniformed  sol 
diers  out  of  men  of  that  race.  They  were  excel 
lent  fighters,  in  their  own  savage  way,  but  no 


THLUCCO.  I47 

amount  of  drilling  could  turn  them  into  soldiers 
of  the  civilized  pattern. 

It  was  a  cruel,  inhuman  thing  to  think  of  set 
ting  these  savages  against  the  Americans  at  all, 
for  their  notion  of  war  was  simply  to  murder  men, 
women  and  children  indiscriminately,  and  to  burn 
houses  and  take  scalps  ;  but  to  try  to  make  soldiers 
out  of  them  was  in  a  high  degree  ridiculous,  and 
Sam  could  scarcely  restrain  his  disposition  to 
laugh  aloud,  as  he  saw  them  floundering  about  in 
trowsers  for  the  first  time  in  their  lives  and  trying 
to  make  out  what  it  all  meant. 

Thlucco,  wrapped  in  his  blanket,  bare-headed 
and  bare-footed,  looked  at  the  performance  with 
an  expression  of  profound  contempt  on  his  face. 

"  Red-coat-big-hat-white  man  big  fool !  "  was 
the  only  comment  he  had  to  make  upon  Captain 
Woodbine  and  his  drill. 

Having  bought  what  he  wanted,  and  learned 
what  he  could,  Sam  returned  to  his  boat,  and  pad 
dled  down  the  bay  to  a  point  not  far  from  Fort 
Barrancas.  Here  he  established  his  fishing  camp, 
and  began  work  upon  his  rudder,  mast  and  sail. 
Before  the  evening  was  over  he  had  his  boat  ready 


I48  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

for  sea,  and  was  prepared  to  begin  the  work  of 
fishing  the  next  morning.     He  had  news  for  Gen- 

o  o 

eral  Jackson ;  and  before  going  to  sleep  he  wrote 
his  first  despatch. 


« INJUN  NO  FOOL."  j  49 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

"INJUN  NO  FOOL." 

AM'S  despatch,  written  by  the  light  of  a 
few  pine  knots  and  with  as  much  care  as 
if  it  had  been  an  important  state  paper, 

— for  whatever  Sam  Hardwicke  did  he  tried  to  do 

well, — was  in  these  words : — 

To  MAJOR  GENERAL  JACKSON, 

Commanding  Department  of  the  South-West, 

MOBILE,  ALABAMA. 
GENERAL : 

I  arrived  with  my  party  to-day.  In  Pensacola,  I  found 
the  British  hospitably  entertained,  not  only  by  the  people,  but 
by  Governor  Mauriquez  himself.  They  are  actually  enlisting 
the  savages  in  their  service,  arming  them  with  rifles  and 
knives  and  attempting  to  make  regular  soldiers  out  of  them. 
I  saw  a  British  captain  drilling  about  fifty  Indians  in  the  pub 
lic  square  of  the  town  at  noon  to-day. 

I  beg  to  report,  also,  that  the  British  occupy  the  defensive 
works  of  the  town,  including  Fort  Barrancas,  from  the  flag- 
staffs  of  which  float  both  the  British  and  the  Spanish  ensigns, 
as  if  the  two  were  allies  in  this  war. 


ISO 


CAPTAIN  SAM. 


I  am  unable  to  report  as  yet  what  the  strength  of  the  Brit 
ish  force  here  is.  I  have  observed  men  from  seven  different 
companies,  in  the  streets,  but  have  been  unable  to  learn,  with 
out  direct  inquiry,  which  would  excite  suspicion,  whether  all 
these  companies  are  present  in  full  strength,  or  whether  there 
are  also  others  here. 

The  ships  in  the  bay,  so  far  as  I  can  make  them  out,  are 
the  Hermes,  Captain  Percy,  22  guns;  the  Sophia,  Captain 
Lockyer,  18  guns  ;  the  Carron,  20  guns  ;  and  the  Childers, 
18  guns. 

I  shall  diligently  seek  to  discover  the  plans  and  purposes 
of  the  expedition,  and  will  not  neglect  to  report  to  you 
promptly,  whatever  I  may  be  able  to  find  out.  At  present  it 
is  evident  only  that  an  expedition  is  fitting  out  here  against 
some  point  on  our  coast. 

I  shall  send  this  by  a  trusty  messenger  at  daybreak. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 
(Signed,) 

SAMUEL   HARDWICKE, 
Commanding  Scouting  Party. 

This  document  was  duly  dated  from  "  Fishing 
Camp,  Five  miles  below  Pensacola,"  and  when  it 
was  written,  Sam  quietly  waked  Bob  Sharp. 

"  Bob,"  he  said,  "  I  have  an  important  duty  for 
you  to  do." 

"  I'm  your  man,  Sam,  for  anything  that  turns 
up." 

"  Yes,  I  know  that,"  replied  Sam,  "  and  that  is 
why  I  picked  you  out  for  this  business.  The 


"  INJUN  NO  FOOL."  !  5  j 

choice  lay  between  you  and  Sid  Russell,  and  I 
chose  you,  because  I  shall  need  a  very  rapid  walk 
er  a  little  later  to  carry  a  still  more  important  des 
patch,  I  fancy." 

"  It's  a  despatch,  then,"  said  Bob. 

"Yes,  a  despatch  to  General  Jackson.  You'll 
find  him  at  Mobile,  and  it  isn't  more  than  sixty  or 
seventy  miles  across  the  country.  I  bought  three 
compasses  in  Pensacola  to-day,  and  you  can  take 
one  of  them  with  you.  I  can't  give  you  my  map, 
but  I'll  copy  it  for  you  on  a  sheet  of  paper.  Go 
to  bed  now,  and  be  ready  to  start  at  daylight. 
I'll  cook  up  some  food  for  you,  so  that  you  needn't 
stop  on  the  way  to  do  any  cooking.  You  must 
make  the  distance  in  the  shortest  time  you  can ! " 
"  After  delivering  the  despatch,  then  what  ?  " 
asked  Bob. 

"  Well,  if  you  want  to,  you  can  come  back  here." 

"  Of  course  I  want  to,"  said  Bob. 

"  But  you  must  rest  first,  and  I'm  not  at  all  sure 
that  you'll  find  us  here.  Perhaps  you'd  better 
wait  in  Mobile,  at  least  till  my  next  despatch 
comes.  Then  General  Jackson  will  tell  you  what 
to  do." 


152  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  If  you'll  just  give  me  permission  to  start 
right  back,  I'll  be  here  in  a  week.  I  kin  make 
twenty-five  miles  a  day,  easy,  an'  that'll  more  'n 
git  me  back  here  in  that  time." 

"  Very  well,  come  back  then." 

At  daylight  Bob  was  off,  and  when  the  boys 
awoke  they  were  full  of  curiosity  to  know  the 
meaning  of  his  absence.  While  Thlucco  was 
around  Sam  would  tell  them  nothing  except  that 
he  had  sent  Bob  away  on  an  errand.  When 
Thlucco  went  to  the  boat  to  arrange  something 
about  the  fishing  tackle,  Sam  briefly  explained  the 
matter,  and  cautioned  the  boys  to  talk  of  it  no 
more. 

An  hour  later  they  went  fishing  on  a  slack 
tide,  and  when  it  turned  and  began  to  run  too 
full  for  the  fish  to  bite  they  sailed  their  boat  to  the 
shore,  with  fish  enough  in  it  to  satisfy  the  most 
eager  of  fishermen. 

During  the  afternoon  Sam  sent  Sid  Russell, 
into  the  town,  nominally  to  buy  some  trifling  thing 
but  really  with  secret  instructions  to  find  out 
what  he  could  about  the  British  forces,  their 
movements,  their  purposes  and  their  plans. 


"  INJUN  NO  FOOL."  1 5  3 

"  Injun  go  town,  too,"  said  Thlucco,  and  with 
out  more  ado  "Injun"  went. 

When  he  returned,  about  ten  o'clock  that 
night,  he  brought  with  him  a  gun  of  superior 
workmanship,  and  a  pouch  full  of  ammunition. 

"  Where  did  you  get  that  ?  "  asked  Sam  in  sur 
prise. 

"  Pensacola,"  said  the  young  savage. 

"How?" 

"  Injun  'list.  Big-hat-red-coat-white  man  give 
Injun  gun,  drill  Injun." 

"  What  in  the  world  did  you  do  that  for?  "  ask 
ed  Sam. 

"  Um.  Injun  got  eyes.  Sam  got  no  guns. 
Sam  need  um.  Injun  git  urn.  Injun  'list  agin. 
Big-hat-red-coat-white  man  give  Injun  'nother 
gun.  Injun  'list  six,  seven  times,  git  guns  for 
boys." 

"  But  we  don't  want  any  guns,  Thlucco." 

"  Um.  Injun  no  fool.  Sam  Jackson  man.  In 
jun  know.  Sam  Jackson  man.  Boys  Jackson 
men.  Sam  find  out  things,  boys  go  tell  Jackson. 
Bob  go  first.  Um.  Injun  no  fool.  Injun  Jack 
son  man.  Injun  git  guns,  heap." 


154  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  But  what  can  we  do  with  them  when  you  get 
them,  Thlucco  ? " 

"  Um.  Injun  no  fool.  May  be  red  coat  men 
spy  Sam.  Sam  caught.  Sam  want  guns.  Um. 
Injun  no  fool." 

Sam  saw  that  it  was  useless  to  prolong  the 
conversation.  Thlucco  was  stolidly  bent  upon  do 
ing  as  he  pleased,  and  the  only  thing  for  Sam  to 
do  was  to  take  care  to  conceal  the  guns  from  the 
observation  of  anybody  who  might  happen  to 
visit  the  camp. 

Thlucco  went  to  town  every  day  and  enlisted 
anew,  only  to  desert  with  his  gun  each  time. 
Finally  he  enlisted  twice  in  one  day,  and  the  next 
day  three  times,  bringing  to  Sam  a  gun  for  each 
enlistment.  By  the  end  of  the  week  Sam  had  an 
armory  of  ten  new  rifles,  with  a  store  of  ammuni 
tion  for  each.  Thlucco  could  not  count  very  well, 
and  it  required  a  good  deal  of  persuasion  on  Sam's 
part  to  induce  him  to  stop  enlisting.  He  was  per 
suaded  at  last,  however,  that  there  were  more  than 
enough  guns  in  camp  to  arm  the  whole  party, 
and  then  he  consented  to  remain  away  from  the 
town. 


"  INJUN  NO  FOOL."  1 5 5 

On  the  evening  of  the  sixth  day  of  their  stay 
in  the  fishing  camp,  the  boys  were  just  sitting 
down  to  their  supper  of  fried  fish,  when  a  familiar 
voice  said : — 

"  I  think  you  might  make  room  for  me." 
"  Bob  Sharp  back  again,  as  sure's  we're  here ! " 
exclaimed   Billy  Bowlegs,  and  all   the   boys  rose 
hastily  to  greet  their  comrade. 


IS6 


CAPTAIN  SAM. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

SAM    SEEKS    INFORMATION    IN    THE    DARK. 


,  Bob,  old  fellow,  how  are  you  ?  " 
"  You   don't   mean   to    say  you've   got 
back  agin  ?  " 

"  How'd  you  find  it  in  the  woods  ?  " 

These  and  a  dozen  other  questions  were  ask 
ed  while  poor  Bob's  hand  was  wrung  nearly  off. 

"  Now,  see  here,"  said  Bob,  "  I  can't  answer  a 
dozen  questions  at  once.  Besides,  I've  got  des 
patches  for  the  Captain. 

"  Have  you  ?  "  asked  Sam.  "  Let  me  have 
them,  then." 

Bob  handed  Sam  an  official  looking  document, 
which  was  merely  an  acknowledgment  of  his  ser 
vice,  a  request  that  he  should  not  abate  his  dili 
gence,  and  an  instruction  to  use  his  own  discre 
tion  in  the  conduct  of  his  expedition.  Then  fol- 


SAM  SEEKS  INFORMATION  IN  THE  DARK.  157 

lowed  questions  and  answers  innumerable,  and  the 
boys  learned  that  General  Jackson  was  in  Mobile, 
without  an  army,  and  likely  to  be  without  one 
until  the  Tennessee  volunteers  should  arrive. 

Supper  over,  Sam  quietly  informed  the  boys 
that  he  was  going  into  the  town,  and  that  he  could 
not  say  when  he  should  return. 

"  What 're  you  a  goin'  to  town  this  time  o' 
night  for  ?  "  asked  Sid  Russell,  who  was  strongly 
prejudiced  against  staying  awake  a  moment  later 
than  was  necessary  after  the  sun  went  down. 

"  I've  laid  some  plans  to  get  some  informa 
tion,"  replied  Sam,  "  and  I'm  going  after  it,"  and 
with  that  he  jumped  into  the  boat,  with  only  Tom 
for  company.  In  truth,  Sam  had  been  in  search 
of  the  information  that  he  was  going  after  for 
several  days,  and  he  had  reason  to  hope  that  he 
might  get  it  on  this  particular  night. 

He  had  already  learned  that  several  of  the 
British  vessels,  now  lying  in  the  bay,  had  sailed 
away  some  little  time  before,  and  that  they  had 
returned  on  the  night  before  Bob's  arrival.  He 
knew  that  their  voyage  must  have  had  some  con 
nection  with  the  plans  they  had  laid  for  operations 


158  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

against  the  American  coast,  and  he  thought  if  he 
could  discover  the  nature  and  purpose  of  this  re 
cent  expedition,  it  would  give  him  a  clew  to  their 
projects  for  the  future.  To  accomplish  this  he 
had  taken  many  risks  while  the  ships  were  away, 
and  he  was  now  going  to  try  a  new  way  of  getting 
at  facts. 

He  sailed  his  boat  up  to  the  town,  and  before 
landing,  said  to  Tom  : — 

"  When  I'm  ashore,  you  put  off  a  little  way 
from  land  and  lie-to  for  an  hour  or  so.  When  I 
want  you,  I'll  come  down  here  to  the  water's  edge 
and  whistle  like  a  Whip-Will's  Widow.  When 
you  hear  me,  run  ashore.  If  I  don't  come  by 
midnight,  go  back  to  camp,  and  march  at  once 
for  Mobile." 

"  Why  can't  I  lie  here  by  the  shore  till  you 
come.  You're  going  into  danger  and  may  need 
me." 

"  First,  because  there  are  ruffians  around  here 
who  might  put  you  ashore  and  steal  the  boat ;  but 
secondly,  because  I  don't  want  to  excite  suspicion 
by  having  our  boat  seen  around  here  at  night.  It's 
so  dark  that  nobody  can  recognize  her  if  you  lie- 


SAM  SEEKS  INFORMATION  IN  THE  DARK.  159 

to  a  hundred  yards  from  shore.  I'm  going  into 
danger,  but  you  can't  help  me." 

Avoiding  further  parley,  Sam  jumped  ashore, 
and  walked  quietly  up  into  the  town,  through  the 
main  street,  until  he  came  to  a  house  built  after 
the  Spanish  model,  with  a  rickety  stair-way  out 
side.  Up  this  stair-way  he  climbed,  and  when  he 
had  reached  the  top  he  pushed  the  door  open  and 
entered.  He  found  himself  in  a  dark  passage, 
but  by  feeling  he  presently  discovered  a  door.  As 
he  opened  it  he  said : — 

"  It's  a  dark  night." 

"  Is  it  dark  ?  "  answered  a  voice  from  within. 

"  It  is  very  dark." 

All  this  appeared  to  be  merely  a  pre-arranged 
signal,  for  it  had  no  sooner  been  uttered  than  the 
owner  of  the  voice  within,  who  seemed  satisfied  of 
Sam's  identity,  struck  a  light,  with  flint  and  steel, 
and  carefully  closed  the  door. 

The  man  was  apparently  a  dark  mulatto,  and 
his  hair  was  matted  about  his  head  as  if  with  some 
glutinous  substance. 

"  You  sent  me  this  note  ? "  asked  Sam. 

"  Yes,  I  gave  it  to  the  Injin.  He  said  you'd 
help  me." 


l6o  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

There  was  a  brogue  in  the  man's  voice,  very 
slight, — too  slight,  indeed,  to  be  represented  in 
print, — and  yet  it  was  perceptible,  and  it  attracted 
Sam's  attention.  Perhaps  he  would  scarcely  have 
noticed  it  but  for  the  fact  that  all  his  senses  were 
keenly  on  the  alert.  He  was  not  at  all  sure  that 
he  was  acting  prudently  in  visiting  this  man.  He 
had  no  knowledge  whatever  of  the  man,  except 
that  Thlucco  had  somehow  found  him  and  ar 
ranged  a  meeting.  Thlucco  had  brought  Sam  a 
scrap  of  dirty  paper,  on  which  were  traced  in  a 
scarcely  legible  scrawl,  these  words : — 

"  Your  man  must  say,  '  It's  a  dark  night ! '  I'll 
say,  '  Is  it  dark.'  We  will  know  each  other  then." 

In  delivering  this  note,  with  directions  as  to 
the  method  of  rinding  the  man,  Thlucco  had 
said : — 

"  Injun  no  fool.  Injun  know  m'latter  man. 
M'latter  man  tell  Sam  heap.  Sam  take  m'latter 
man  way." 

By  diligent  questioning,  Sam  had  made  out  that 
this  man  had  knowledge  of  affairs  in  the  British 
camp  which  he  was  willing  to  sell  for  some  service 
that  Sam  could  do  him. 


SAM  SEEKS  INFORMATION  IN  THE  DARK.   j6i 

Sam  was  not  sure  of  Thlucco.  His  knowl 
edge  of  the  Indian  character  did  not  predispose 
him  to  trust  Indian  professions  of  friendship,  and 
he  strongly  suspected  treachery  of  some  sort  here. 
He  thought  it  possible  that  this  was  only  a  scheme 
to  entrap  his  secret  and  himself,  and  he  had  gone 
to  the  conference  determined  to  be  on  his  guard, 
and  in  the  event  of  trouble,  to  use  the  stout 
cudgel  which  he  carried  as  vigorously  as  possible. 

"  If  we  are  to  talk,"  he  said  to  the  man,  "  you 
must  come  with  me." 

The  man  hesitated,  afraid,  apparently,  of  treach 
ery. 

"  I  do  not  know  you,"  he  said,  "  and  the  Indian 
may  have  lied." 

"  Listen  to  me,"  said  Sam  in  reply,  "  I  do  not 
know  you,  and  the  Indian  may  have  lied  to  me. 
Yet  I  have  trusted  myself  here  in  the  dark.  You 
must  trust  something  to  me.  Go  with  me,  and 
when  we  have  talked  together  for  an  hour,  if  you 
wish  to  return  here,  I  pledge  you  my  word  of 
honor,  as  a  gentleman's  son,  to  bring  you  back 
safely.  If  you  will  not  go  with  me,  we  may  as 

well  part  at  once.  I  positively  will  not  say  another 

ii 


1 62  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

word.  I'm  going.  Follow  me  in  silence,  or  stay 
here,  as  you  please." 

With  that  Sam  opened  the  door  and  walked 
out.  The  man  quickly  extinguished  the  light  and 
crept  after  Sam,  in  his  bare  feet, 

Sam  led  the  way  by  a  route  just  outside  the 
town,  without  exchanging  a  word  with  his  com- 

O        O 

panion.  Half  an  hour's  walking  brought  them 
to  the  lonely  strip  of  beach  on  which  Sam  had 
landed. 

"  Whip-Will's  Widow,"  whistled  Sam,  shrilly. 

His  companion  started  back  in  affright,  and 
was  on  the  point  of  running  away,  when  Sam 
seized  him  by  the  arm,  and,  shaking  him  vigor 
ously,  said  : — 

"  I'll  not  play  you  false.  Trust  me.  I  have  a 
boat  here." 

"  You  come  from  the  Fort  ? "  said  the  man  in 
abject  terror. 

"  No,  I  do  not.  I  am  an  American,"  said  Sam, 
no  longer  hesitating  to  reveal  his  nationality,  now 
that  he  saw  how  terrified  the  man  was  at  thought 
of  falling  into  British  hands. 

The  words  re-assured  the  man,  and  when  Tom 


SAM  SEEKS  INFORMATION  IN  THE  DARK.  163 

came  ashore  with  the  boat  he  embarked  without 
further  hesitation. 

"  Beat  about,  Tom,"  said  Sam,  "  I  may  have 
to  land  again.  I  have  promised  this  man  to  re 
turn  him  safely  to  the  place  in  which  I  found  him, 
if  we  don't  come  to  some  agreement.  Sail  around 
here  while  we  talk." 

Turnino;  to  the  man,  he  said  : — 

O 

"  Let  us  talk  in  a  low  voice.  Who  are  you, 
and  what  ?  " 

"  I'm  a  deserter  from  the  marine  corps." 

"  British  ? " 

"  Yes.  I'm  an  Irishman.  I've  blacked  my 
hair  and  skin,  that's  all." 

"  When  did  you  desert  ?  " 

"  Yesterday.  I  was  to  be  flogged  for  insubor 
dination,  and  I  jist  run  away." 

"  Were  you  with  the  late  expedition  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Very  well.  I  think  we  can  come  to  an  un 
derstanding.  You  want  to  get  away,  out  of  reach 
of  capture  ? " 

"  Sure  I  do.  If  I'm  caught,  I'll  be  shot  with 
out  mercy." 


1 64  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  Very  well.  Now  if  you'll  tell  me  everything 
you  know,  I'll  help  you  to  get  away.  More  than 
that,  I'll  get  you  away,  within  our  own  lines.  I 
have  the  means  at  my  command." 

"  Faith  an'  I'll  tell  you  everything  I  ever  know'd 
in  my  life,  if  you'll  only  get  me  out  of  this." 

The  man  was  now  in  precisely  the  mood  in 
which  Sam  wished  to  have  him.  He  had  already 
confessed  his  desertion,  and  had  now  ever)''  reason 
to  speak  freely  and  truly,  and  it  was  evident  that 
he  meant  to  do  so. 

"  Tom,"  said  Sam. 

"  Well,"  replied  Tom. 

"  You  may  beat  up  toward  our  camp,  now." 

"  And  you'll  save  me  ? "  asked  the  man,  seizing 
Sam's  hand  and  wrino;ins;  it. 

O        O 

"  I  will.     Now  let's  come  to  business." 

"  I'm  ready,"  answered  the  man. 

"  Where  did  the  ships  go  ?  " 

"  To  the  Island  of  Barrataria." 

"  To  treat  with  Jean  Lafitte,  the  pirate  ? "  ex 
claimed  Sam. 

"  Yes,  to  enlist  him  and  his  cut-throats  in  the 
war  against  you." 


SAM  SEEKS  INFORMATION  IN  THE  DARK.  165 

"  Did  they  succeed  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know.  The  officers  dined  with  La- 
fitte,  and  treated  him  like  a  prince.  They  came 
away  in  good  spirits,  and  must  have  succeeded, 
else  they'd  a'  been  glum  enough." 

"  What  do  they  propose  to  do  next  ?  " 

"  They're  a  goin'  to  sail  again  in  a  few  days, 
and  the  boys  say  it's  for  Mobile  this  time.  The 
men  had  orders  yesterday  to  get  ready." 

"  What  preparation  are  they  making?  " 

"  They're  storing  the  ships  and  taking  water 
aboard.  The  marines  are  kept  in  quarters 
on  shore,  and  a  lot  o'  them  red  savages  is  in 
camp  at  the  fort,  with  Captain  Woodbine  in 
command." 

"  Well,  now,"  said  Sam, "  tell  me  why  you  think 
the  next  movement  will  be  against  Mobile  ?  May 
it  not  be  New  Orleans  instead?" 

"  Well,  you  see  them  pirates  is  wanted  for  the 
New  Orleans  work.  They  know  all  the  channels, 
and  have  got  the  pilots.  When  the  fleet  starts  for 
New  Orleans  some  o'  them  '11  be  on  board.  Be 
sides,  the  officers  talk  over  their  rum,  and  the  men 
hear  'em,  an'  all  the  talk  is  about  Mobile,  and  Mo- 


1 66  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

bile  Point,  whatever   that   is ;    so   its  pretty  sure 
they're  going  to  Mobile  first."* 

By  this  time  the  boat,  which  was  running  un 
der  a  good  stiff  breeze,  ran  upon  the  beach  by 
Sani's  camp,  and  Sam  led  the  way  to  the  dying 
camp  fire,  which  he  replenished,  for  the  sake  of 
the  light.  Then  getting  his  writing  materials  he 
prepared  a  despatch  .to  General  Jackson.  It  ran 
as  follows : — 

CAMP  NEAR  PENSACOLA, 

September  8th,  1814. 
To  MAJOR-GENERAL  JACKSON, 

Commanding  Department  of  the  South-West. 

GENERAL  : — 

I  beg  to  report  that  several  of  the  British  vessels  of  war 
now  lying  at  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Pensacola,  have  just  re 
turned  from  a  brief  voyage,  the  object  and  nature  of  which 
I  have  endeavored  to  discover.  I  have  succeeded  in  finding 
a  deserter  from  the  British  marine  corps,  from  whom,  under 
promise  of  protection,  I  have  drawn  such  information  as  he 
possesses.  He  accompanied  the  late  expedition,  and  tells 
me  that  it  went  to  the  Island  of  Barrataria.  to  seek  the  assist- 

*  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  tell  readers  who  are  familiar  with 
American  History,  that  Jean  Lafitte  was  not  properly  a  pirate, 
although  he  was  called  so  in  1814;  nor  is  it  necessary  to  tell  here 
how  the  British  attempt  to  use  his  lawless  band  against  the  Ameri 
cans  miscarried.  All  that  belongs  to  the  domain  of  legitimate 
history. 


SAM  SEEKS  INFORMATION  IN  THE  DARK,  ify 

ance  of  Jean  Lafitte,  the  pirate,  and  his  gang  of  outlaws, 
against  the  United  States.  Whether  the  negotiations  to  that 
end  were  successful  or  not,  he  does  not  know,  but  he  sup 
poses,  from  the  temper  in  which  the  officers  returned,  that 
they  were. 

From  this  deserter  I  learn,  also,  that  preparations  are 
making  for  a  hostile  movement,  which  the  British  marines 
and  soldiers  believe,  from  the  remarks  made  by  officers  in 
their  presence,  is  to  be  directed  against  Mobile  by  way  of 
Mobile  Point,  which  I  take  to  be  the  point  of  land  which 
guards  the  entrance  to  Mobile  bay,  where  Fort  Bowyer 
stands. 

I  send  the  deserter  with  the  messenger  who  takes  this  to 
you,  partly  because  I  have  promised  to  secure  him  against  re 
capture,  and  partly  because  you  may  desire  to  question  him 
further. 

There  are  no  present  appearances  of  the  immediate  sail 
ing  of  this  expedition,  but  from  what  the  deserter  tells  me,  I 
presume  that  it  will  sail  within  a  few  days.  I  shall  remain 
here  still,  to  get  what  information  I  can,  and  will  report 
to  you  promptly  whatever  I  learn.  I  cannot  say  how 
long  I  shall  be  able  to  stay,  as  a  British  officer  visited  my 
camp  yesterday,  and  questioned  my  boys,  as  I  thought,  rather 
suspiciously.  I  shall  be  on  the  alert,  and  take  no  unneces 
sary  risk  of  capture. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

SAMUEL  HARDWICKE, 
'  Commanding  Scouting  Party. 


168  CAPTAIN  SAM. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

A     SUSPICIOUS     OCCURRENCE. 

HEN  Sam  had  finished  his  despatch  he 
quietly  aroused  Bob  Sharp  and  Sidney 
Russell,  and  entered  into  conversation 
with  them. 

"  Sid,"  he  said,  "I  have  a  prisoner  and  a  des 
patch  of  very  great  importance  to  send  to  Gen 
eral  Jackson.  You  must  take  the  despatch  and 
leave  as  soon  as  possible,  with  the  prisoner,  who 
is  a  deserter  and  who  must  be  got  away  from 
here  before  daylight.  Bob,  I  want  you  to  give  Sid 
as  good  directions  as  you  can,  as  you've  been  over 
the  route  twice." 

"  Yes  an'  I've  sort  o'  blazed  it  too,  and  picked 
out  all  sorts  o'  land-marks  to  steer  by,  but  I  don't 
know's  I  can  make  any  body  else  understand  'em. 
Are  you  in  a  big  hurry  with  the  despatch  ?  " 


A  SUSPICIOUS  OCCURRENCE.  169 

"  Yes,  the  biggest  kind.  It's  of  the  utmost  im 
portance,  and  time  is  every  thing.  A  single  hour 
lost  may  lose  Mobile  or  a  battle." 

"  Then  maybe  Sid  an'  me'd  both  better  go, — 
Sid  to  do  the  fast  running  an'  me  to  show  him 
the  way." 

"  There's  no  use  of  both  of  you  going,"  re 
plied  Sam,  "  but  if  you  had  had  a  couple  of  days 
rest  I  would  send  you  instead  of  Sid,  because  you 
know  the  way,  and  I  don't  believe  anybody  can 
make  the  distance  any  quicker  than  you  have 
done  it." 

"  I  know  a  feller  that  kin,"  replied  Bob. 

"  Who  is  it  ? "  asked  Sam. 

"  Me." 

"  You  ?     How  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  I  mean  that  I  kin  go  to  Mobile  most  a  day 
quicker  'n  I  dun  it  before.  I  got  into  a  lot  o' 
tangles  before  that  I  know  how  to  keep  out  of 
now." 

"  Yes,  but  you  can't  start  back  again  without 
at  least  a  day's  rest." 

"  Can't  I  though  ?  I'm  as  fresh  as  an  Irish 
potato  without  salt,  an'  if  you  just  say  the  word, 


170  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

I'll  be  off  the  minute  you  git  your  papers  ready. 
The  boys  have  got  somethin'  cooked  I  reckon." 

Sam  complimented  Bob  upon  his  vigor  and 
readiness,  and  accepted  his  offer.  Ten  minutes 
sufficed  for  all  necessary  preparations,  and  Bob 
was  about  starting  with  his  prisoner,  when  Sid 
Russell  spoke. 

"  I  say,  Sam,  did  you  say  this  'ere  feller's  a 
deserter? " 

"Yes.     What  of  it?" 

"  Nothin',  only  there's  a  camp  o'  British  an' 
Injuns  back  there  a  little  ways,  an'  if  Bob  don't 
look  out  he'll  run  right  into  it." 

"  A  camp  ?     Where  ?  "  asked  Sam. 

"  Right  in  rear  of  us,  not  three  hundred  yards 
away." 

"  When  was  it  established  there  ?  " 

"  To-night,  just  after  you  went  away  in  the 
boat." 

"  All  right,"  replied  Sam.  "  Jump  into  the 
boat,  Bob,  and  we'll  sail  down  below  and  you  can 
start  from  there." 

It  was   easy  enough    to  carry  Bob  and   the 
deserter  down  to  a  point   below    the  camp,  but 


A  SUSPICIOUS  OCCURRENCE. 


171 


Sam  was  not  at  all  pleased  to  find  the  British  so 
near  him.  He  feared  already  that  he  was  sus 
pected,  and  he  was  not  sure  that  this  placing  of 
troops  near  him  was  not  a  preparation  for  some 
thing  else.  At  all  events,  it  was  very  embarras 
sing,  for  the  reason  that  it  would  prevent  him 
from  withdrawing  his  party  suddenly  to  the 
woods  on  their  retreat,  if  anything  should  hap 
pen,  and  this  made  Sam  uneasy.  He  returned  to 
camp,  after  parting  with  Bob  and  the  deserter, 
and  sat  for  an  hour  revolving  matters  in  his 
mind. 

At  first  he  was  disposed  to  wake  the  boys 
and  quietly  withdraw  by  water  to  a  point  lower 
down,  but  upon  reflection  he  was  convinced  that 
his  removal  by  night  immediately  after  the  troops 
had  been  stationed  near  him,  would  only  tend  to 
excite  suspicion.  He  thought,  too,  that  he  must 
have  been  wrong  in  supposing  that  the  camp 
had  been  established  in  rear  of  him  with  any 
reference  to  him  or  his  party. 

"  If  they  suspected  us  in  the  least,  they  would 
arrest  us  without  waiting  to  make  sure  of  their 
suspicions,"  he  thought ;  nevertheless,  it  was  awk- 


1/2  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

ward  to  be  shut  in  and  cut  off  from  the  easy  re 
treat  which  he  had  planned,  as  a  means  of  escape, 
in  the  event  of  necessity,  and  he  determined  to 
seek  an  excuse  for  removing  within  a  day  or  two 
from  his  present  camping  place  to  one  which 
would  leave  him  freer  in  his  movements.  He  was 
so  troubled  that  he  could  not  sleep,  and  the  flicker 
ing  blaze  of  the  dying  camp  fire  annoyed  him.  He 
got  up,  therefore,  from  his  seat  on  a  log  and  went  to 
the  boat  and  sat  down  in  the  stern  sheets  to  think. 

He  had  no  fear  of  danger  for  himself,  or  rath 
er,  he  was  prepared  to  encounter,  without  flinch 
ing,  any  danger  into  which  his  duty  might  lead 
him ;  but  I  have  not  succeeded  very  well  in  mak 
ing  my  readers  acquainted  with  Sam  Hardwicke's 
character,  if  they  do  not  know  that  he  was  a 
thoroughly  conscientious  boy,  and  from  the  be 
ginning  of  this  expedition  until  now,  he  had  never 
once  forgotten  that  his  authority,  as  its  command 
er,  involved  with  it  a  heavy  responsibility. 

"  These  boys,"  he  frequently  said  to  himself, 
"  are  subject  to  my  command.  They  must  go 
where  I  lead  them,  and  have  no  chance  to  use 
their  own  judgments.  I  decide  where  they  shall 


A  SUSPICIOUS  OCCURRENCE.  173 

go  and  what  they  shall  do,  and  I  am  responsible 
for  the  consequences  to  them." 

Feeling  his  responsibility  thus  deeply,  he  was 
troubled  now  lest  any  mistake  of  his  should  lead 
them  into  unnecessary  danger.  He  carefully 
weighed  every  circumstance  which  could  possibly 
affect  his  decision,  and  his  judgment  was  that 
his  duty  required  him  to  remain  yet  a  day  or  two 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Pensacola,  and  that  it 
would  only  tend  to  awaken  suspicion  if  he  should 
remove  his  camp  to  any  other  point  on  the  shores 
of  the  bay.  He  must  stay  where  he  was,  and  risk 
the  consequences.  If  ill  should  befall  the  boys  it 
would  be  an  unavoidable  ill,  incurred  in  the  dis 
charge  of  duty,  and  he  would  have  no  reason,  he 
thought,  to  reproach  himself. 

Just  as  he  reached  this  conclusion,  Thlucco 
came  from  somewhere  out  of  the  darkness,  and 
stepping  into  the  boat  took  a  seat  just  in  front  of 
Sam,  facing  him. 

"  Why,  Thlucco,"  exclaimed  Sam,  "  where  did 
you  come  from  ?  " 

"  Sh — sh — ,"  said  Thlucco.  "  Injun  know. 
Injun  no  fool.  Injun  want  Sam." 


174  CAPTAIN  SA  J/. 

"  What  do  you  want  with  Sam  ?  " 

"  Sam  git  caught !     Injun  no  fool.     Injun  see.' 

"  What  do  you  mean,  Thlucco  ?  Speak  out. 
If  there  is  any  danger,  I  want  to  know  it." 

"  Ugh  !     Injun  know  Jake  Elliott !  " 

•'  What  about  Jake  ?  "  asked  Sam. 

"  Um,  Jake  Elliott  devil.  Jake  hate  Sam. 
Jake  hate  General  Jackson.  Injun  no  fool.  In 
jun  see." 

Sam  was  interested  now,  but  it  was  not  easy  to 
draw  anything  like  detailed  information  out  of 
Thlucco. 

"  What  makes  you  think  that,  Thlucco?  What 
have  you  seen  or  heard  ?  " 

"  Um.  Injun  see.  Injun  know.  Injun  no 
fool.  Jake  cuss  Sam.  Jake  cuss  Jackson.  Injun 
hear." 

"  When  did  you  hear  him  curse  me  or  General 
Jackson,  Thlucco  ?  "  asked  Sam. 

"Um.  To-day!  'Nother  day,  too !  'Nother 
day  'fore  that." 

"  What  did  he  say  ?  " 

"  Um.     Jake  cuss.     Um.     Jake  gone." 

"  What !  "  exclaimed  Sam.     "  Gone  !  where  ? " 


A  SUSPICIOUS  OCCURRENCE.  ^5 

"  Um.  Injun  don't  know.  Injun  know  Jake 
gone." 

"  When  did  he  leave  camp  ? " 

"  Um.  When  Sam  go  'way  Jake  go  too !  In 
jun  follow  Jake.  Jake  cuss  Injun.  Injun  come 
back." 

"  Is  that  all  you  know,  Thlucco? " 

"  Um.  That's  all.  That's  'nough.  Jake  gone 
'way." 

Sam  jumped  out  of  the  boat  and  waked  the 
boys. 

"Where  did  Jake  Elliott  go  to-night?"  he 
asked. 

None  of  the  boys  knew. 

"  Did  any  one  of  you  see  him  leave  camp  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  answered  Billy  Bowlegs,  "  but  wre  didn't 
pay  much  attention  to  him.  He's  been  so  glum 
lately  that  we've  been  glad  to  have  him  out  of 
sight." 

"  Has  he  ever  gone  away  before  ? "  asked 
Sam. 

"  No,  only  he  never  stays  right  in  camp.  He 
sleeps  over  there  by  them  trees,"  said  Billy  Bow- 
legs,  pointing  to  a  clump  of  trees  about  forty  or 


!^6  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

fifty  yards  away,  "  an'  I  guess  he's  only  gone  over 
there.  He  never  stays  with  us  when  you're  not 
here." 

Sam  strode  over  to  the  trees  indicated,  and 
searched  carefully,  but  could  find  no  trace  of  Jake 
there.  Returning  to  the  camp  he  asked  : — 

"  Did  any  of  you  observe  which  way  he  went 
when  he  went  away  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  answered  Sid  Russell,  "  he  went  toward 
his  trees." 

"  That  is  toward  the  town,"  answered  Sam. 

"  Yes,  so  it  is." 

"  Have  you  observed  anything  peculiar  about 
his  conduct  lately? " 

"  No,"  replied  Billy  Bowlegs,  "  only  that  he's 
been  a  gettin'  glummer  an'  glummer.  I'll  tell  you 
what  it  is,  Captain  Sam,  I'll  bet  a  big  button  he's 
deserted  an'  gone  home.  He's  a  coward  and  he's 
been  scared  ever  since  he  found  out  that  you 
wa'n't  foolin'  about  this  bein'  a  genu-me,  danger 
ous  piece  of  work,  an'  I'll  bet  he's  cut  his  lucky, 
an'  gone  home,  an'  if  ever  I  get  back  there  I'll 
pull  his  nose  for  a  sneak,  you  just  see  if  I  don't." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Sam,  "  go   to  sleep  again, 


A  SUSPICIOUS  OCCURRENCE.  177 

then.  If  he  has  gone  home  it  is  a  good  riddance 
of  very  bad  rubbish." 

Sam  was  not  by  any  means  satisfied  that  Jake 
had  gone  home,  however.  Indeed  he  was  pretty 
well  convinced  that  he  had  done  nothing  of  the 
sort,  and  he  wished  for  a  chance  to  think,  so  that 
he  might  determine  what  was  best  to  be  done. 
He  believed  Jake  would  not  dare  to  go  home  as  a 
deserter,  knowing  very  well  what  reputation  he 
would  have  to  bear  ever  afterward,  in  a  commu 
nity  in  which  personal  courage  was  held  to  be  the 
first  of  the  virtues,  and  the  lack  of  it  the  worst 
possible  vice.  Where  had  he  gone,  then,  and  for 
what  ?  Sam  did  not  know,  but  he  had  an  opinion 
on  the  subject  which  grew  stronger  and  stronger 
the  more  he  revolved  the  matter  in  his  mind. 

Jake  Elliott,  he  knew,  had  a  personal  grudge 
against  him,  and  no  very  kindly  feeling  for  the 
other  boys.  He  was  confessedly  afraid  to  continue 
in  the  service  in  which  he  was  engaged,  and  it  was 
not  easy  for  him  to  quit  it.  There  was  just  one 
safe  way  out  of  it;  and  that  offered,  not  safety 
only,  but  revenge  of  precisely  the  kind  that  Jake 
Elliott  was  likely  to  take.  Sam  knew  very  well 


12 


178  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

that,  notwithstanding  his  magnanimity,  Jake  still 
bitterly  hated  him,  and  still  cherished  the  design 
of  wreaking  his  vengeance  upon  him  at  the  first 
opportunity. 

"  What  is  more  probable,  then,"  he  asked  him 
self,  "  than  that  Jake  is  trying  to  betray  us  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy  to  die  as  spies  ?  He  is  abund 
antly  capable  of  the  treachery  and  the  meanness, 
and  his  desertion  of  the  camp  to-night  strongly 
confirms  the  suspicion." 

This  much  being  decided,  it  was  necessary  for 
Sam  to  determine  what  should  be  done  in  the  cir 
cumstances.  If  there  had  been  no  camp  in  his 
rear,  he  would  have  withdrawn  his  command 
through  the  woods  at  once.  As  it  was,  he  must 
find  some  other  way.  It  was  clearly  his  duty  to 
escape  with  his  boys,  if  he  could,  and  to  lose  no 
time  in  attempting  it.  The  danger  was  now  too 
near  at  hand,  and  too  positive  to  be  ignored, 
and  there  was  really  very  little  more  for  him  to  do 
here.  He  must  escape  at  once. 

But  could  he  escape  ? 

That  was  a  question  which  the  event  would 
have  to  answer,  as  Sam  could  not  do  it.  He  could 


A  SUSPICIOUS  OCCURRENCE. 

Unluckily,  it  was  already  beginning  to  grow 
light,  and  he  would  not  have  the  shelter  of  dark 
ness. 

He  aroused  the  boys  again,  before  they  had 
had  time  to  get  to  sleep,  and  quietly  began  his 
preparations. 

"  Make  no  noise,"  he  said,  "  but  put  what  pro 
visions  you  have,  and  all  your  things  into  the  boat. 
D  011 1  for  get  the  guns  and  the  ammunition.  Sid  ! 
take  our  little  water  keg  and  run  and  fill  it  with 
fresh  water." 

The  boys  set  about  their  preparations  hurried 
ly,  although  they  but  dimly  guessed  the  meaning 
of  Sam's  singular  orders. 

At  that  moment  Jake  Elliott  shuffled  into  the 
camp. 


l8o  CAPTAIN  SAM. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

JAKE  ELLIOTT  MAKES  ANOTHER  EFFORT  TO  GET  EVEN. 

S  it  is  impossible  to  tell  at  one  time  the 
story  of  the  doings  of  two  different  sets 
of  persons  in  two  different  places,  it 
follows  that,  if  both  are  to  be  told,  one  must  be  told 
first  and  the  other  afterward. 

For  precisely  this  reason,  I  must  leave  Sam 
and  his  party  for  a  time  now,  while  I  tell  where 
Jake  Elliott  had  been,  and  what  he  had  been 
about. 

When  Sam  let  him  off  as  easily  as  he  could 
at  the  time  of  the  compass  affair,  and  even  went 
out  of  his  way  to  prevent  the  boys  from  referring 
to  that  transaction,  he  did  so  with  the  distinct 
purpose  of  giving  Jake  an  opportunity  and  a  mo 
tive  to  redeem  his  reputation ;  and  he  sincerely 
hoped  that  Jake  would  avail  himself  of  the  chance. 


ANOTHER  EFFORT  TO  GET  EVEN.  i$i 

It  is  not  easy  for  a  man  or  boy  of  right  im 
pulses  to  imagine  the  feelings,  or  to  comprehend 
the  acts  of  a  person  whose  impulses  are  all  wrong, 
and  so  it  was  that  Sam  fell  into  the  error  of  sup 
posing  that  his  badly  behaved  follower  would  re 
pent  of  his  misconduct  and  do  better  in  future. 
This  was  what  all  the  boys  thought  that  Jake 
ought  to  do,  and  what  Sam  thought  he  would  do ; 
but  in  truth  he  was  disposed  to  do  nothing  of  the 
sort,  and  Sam  was  not  very  long  in  discovering 
the  fact.  Instead  of  feeling  grateful  to  Sam  for 
shielding  him  against  the  taunts  of  his  compan 
ions,  he  hated  Sam  more  cordially  than  ever,  when 
he  found  howr  completely  he  had  failed  in  his  at 
tempt  to  embarrass  the  expedition.  He  nursed 
his  malice  and  brooded  over  it,  determined  to  seize 
the  first  opportunity  of  "  getting  even,"  as  he  ex 
pressed  it,  and  from  that  hour  his  thoughts  were 
all  of  revenge,  complete,  successful,  merciless.  He 
was  willing  enough,  too,  to  include  the  other  boys 
in  this  wreaking  of  vengeance,  as  he  included  them 
now  in  his  malice. 

His  first  attempt  to  accomplish  his  purpose,  as 
we  know  already,  was  an  effort  to  wreck  the  boat 


1 82  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

in  a  drift  pile,  and  that  affair  served  to  open  Sam's 
eyes  to  the  true  character  of  the  boy  with  whom 
he  had  to  deal.  He  trusted  him  no  more,  and 
managed  him  thereafter  only  by  appeals  to  his 
fears. 

When  the  camp  was  formed  near  Pensacola, 
Sam  carefully  canvassed  the  possibilities  of  Jake's 
misconduct,  and  concluded  that  the  worst  he  could 
do  would  be  to  injure  the  boat  or  her  tackle,  and 
he  sufficiently  guarded  against  that  by  always 
sleeping  near  the  little  craft. 

Jake  was  more  desperately  bent  upon  revenge 
than  Sam  supposed,  and  from  the  hour  of  going 
into  camp  he  diligently  worked  over  his  plan  for 
.accomplishing  his  purpose.  He  had  learned  by 
previous  failures,  to  dread  Sam's  quickness  of  per 
ception,  of  which,  indeed,  he  stood  almost  super- 
.stitiously  in  awe.  He  would  not  venture  to  take 
.a  single  step  toward  the  accomplishment  of  the 
end  he  had  set  himself,  until  his  plans  should  be 
mature.  For  many  days,  therefore,  he  only  medi 
tated  revenge  not  daring,  as  yet,  to  attempt  it  by 
any  active  measures.  At  last,  however,  he  was 
satisfied  that  his  plans  were  beyond  Sam's  power 


ANOTHER  EFFORT  TO  GET  EVEN.  183 

to  penetrate,  and  he  was  ready  to  put  them  into 
execution.  On  the  night  of  Bob  Sharp's  return, 
\\hich  was  the  night  last  described  in  previous 
chapters,  Sam  went  to  the  town,  as  we  know,  ac 
companied  by  Tom,  who  sailed  the  boat.  As  soon 
as  he  was  fairly  out  of  sight  Jake  walked  away  to 
ward  Pensacola.  The  distance  was  considerable, 
and  the  way  a  very  difficult  one,  as  the  tide  was 
too  high  for  walking  on  the  beach,  so  that  it  was 
nearly  midnight  when  Jake  knocked  at  a  house 
on  a  side  street. 

"  Who  is  there  ? "  asked  a  night-capped  per 
sonage  from  an  upper  window. 

"  A  friend,"  answered  Jake. 

"What  do  you  want? "  said  the  night-capped 
head,  rather  gruffly. 

"  I  want  to  see  the  Leftenant." 

"  What  do  you  want  with  me  ?" 

"  I  want  to  talk  with  you." 

"  Oh,  go  to  the  mischief !     I'm  in  bed." 

"  But  I  must  see  you  to-night,"  said  Jake. 

"  On  business  ? " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Important  ? " 


1 84  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  Yes." 

"  Won't  it  keep  till  morning  ?  " 

"  No,  sir  ;  I'm  afraid  not" 

"  Very  well.  I  suppose  I  must  see  you  then. 
Push  the  door  open  and  find  your  way  up  the 
stairs." 

Jake  did  as  he  was  told  to  do,  and  presently 
found  himself  in  the  room  where  Lieutenant  Cox- 
etter  had  been  sleeping.  That  distinguished  ser 
vant  of  His  Majesty,  King  George,  had  meantime 
drawn  on  his  trowsers,  and  he  now  lighted  a  little 
oil  lamp,  which  threw  a  wretched  apology  for 
light  a  few  feet  into  the  surrounding  darkness. 

"  Now  then,"  said  the  officer,  in  no  very  pleas 
ant  tones,  "  What  do  you  want  with  me  at  this 
time  o'  night  ?  Who  are  you,  and  where  do  you 
come  from  ?  " 

Jake  was  so  nervous  that  he  found  it  impossi 
ble  to  find  a  place  at  which  to  begin  his  story,  and 
the  impatient  Lieutenant  spurred  him  with  direct 
questions. 

"  What's  your  name  ?  "  he  asked.  "  You  can 
tell  that,  can't  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  faltered  Jake 


"  SPEAK,    MAN  !   OR    I    CHOKE    YOU. 


ANOTHER  EFFORT  TO  GET  EVEN.  185 

"  Well,  tell  it  then,  and  be  quick  about  it." 

"  My  name  is  Jacob  Elliott,"  said  that  worthy, 
fairly  gasping  for  breath  in  his  embarrassment. 

"  Oh  !  you  do  know  your  name,  then,"  said  the 
officer.  "  Now,  then,  where  do  you  come  from  ? " 

"  From  Alabama,"  answered  Jake. 

"  From  Alabama !  the  mischief  you  do !  You're 
an  American  then  ?  What  the  mischief  are  you 
doino;  here? " 

O 

"  Oh,  sir,  that's  just  what  I  want  to  tell  you 
about,  if  you'll  let  me." 

u  If  I'll  let  you  ?  Ain't  I  doing  my  very  best 
to  make  you  ?  Havn't  I  been  worming  your  facts 
out  of  you  with  a  corkscrew  ?  But  you'd  better 
be  quick  about  giving  an  account  of  yourself  If 
you  don't  give  a  pretty  satisfactory  one,  too,  I'll 
arrest  you  as  a  spy, —  a  spy,  my  good  fellow,  do 
you  understand  ?  A  spy,  and  we  hang  that  sort 
o'  people.  Come,  be  quick." 

"  Spies!  that's  just  it,  Lieutenant.  I  came  here 
to-night  to  tell  you  about  spies." 

"  Then  why  the  mischief  don't  you  do  it  ? 
You'll  drive  me  mad  with  your  halting  tongue. 
Speak  man,  or  I'll  choke  you ! "  and  with  that  the 


1 86  CAPTA IN  SA  Jf. 

officer  stood  up  and  bent  forward  over  Jake,  tc 
that  young  man's  serious  discomfiture. 

"  They's  some  spies  here — ,"  Jake  began. 
"  Where  ?  "  asked  the  impatient  officer  interrupt 
ing  him. 

"  Down  there,  in  a  camp,"  said  Jake,  talking  as 
rapidly  as  he  could,  lest  the  officer  should  inter 
rupt  him  again;  "Down  there  in  a  camp  by  the 
bay,  an'  they've  got  a  boat  an'  guns,  an'  they're 
boys,  an'  they  pretend  to  be  a  fishin'  party." 

"  Ah  ! "  said  the  Lieutenant,  "  I  thought  I'd 
make  you  find  your  tongue.  Now  listen  to  me, 
and  answer  my  questions,  and  mind  you  don't  lie 
to  me,  sir;  mind  you  don't  lie." 

"  I  won't.  I  pledge  you  my  honor — ,"  began 
Jake. 

"  Never  mind  pledging  that ;  it  isn't  worth 
pledging.  You  see  you're  a  sneak,  else  you 
wouldn't  be  here  telling  tales  on  your  fellow  coun 
trymen.  But  never  mind.  It's  my  business  to 
make  use  of  you.  I'm  provost-marshal." 

This  was  not  at  all  the  sort  of  treatment  Jake 
had  expected  to  receive  at  the  hands  of  British 
officers.  He  had  supposed  that  the  value  of  his 


ANOTHER  EFFORT  TO  GET  EVEN.  187 

services  in  betraying  his  fellows,  would  be  recog 
nized  and  rewarded,  and  he  had  even  dreamed  of 
receiving  marked  attentions  and  a  good,  comfort 
able,  safe  place  in  the  British  service  in  recom 
pense.  It  had  never  occurred  to  him  that  while 
all  military  men  must  get  what  information  they 
can  from  deserters,  and  traitors,  they  do  not  re 
spect  the  sneaking  fellows  in  the  least,  but  on  the 
contrary  hold  them  in  profoundest  contempt,  al 
most  spurning  them  with  their  boots.  Jake  had 
gone  too  far  to  retreat,  however,  and  must  now 
tell  his  whole  story.  He  told  where  the  boys  were, 
and  how  they  had  come  there,  and  for  what  pur 
pose,  lying  only  enough  to  make  it  appear  that  he 
himself  had  never  willingly  joined  them,  but  had 
been  deceived  at  first,  and  forced  afterward  into 
the  service. 

The  Lieutenant  listened  to  the  story  and  then 
asked : — 

"  Have  you  anything  to  show  for  all  this  ? " 

"  How  do  you  mean  ? "  asked  Jake. 

"  Why,  you  wretched  coward,  don't  you  under 
stand  ?  How  am  I  to  know  how  much  of  your 
story  is  true,  and  how  much  of  it  false  ?  Of 


1 88  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

course  it  isn't  all  true.  You  couldn't  talk  so  long 
without  telling  some  lies.  What  I  want  to  know 
is,  what  can  you  show  for  all  this  story  ?  If  I  ar 
rest  these  boys,  what  can  be  proved  on  them  ?  " 

"  Well,  the  Captain's  got  a  despatch  from  Gen 
eral  Jackson  ;  that'll  prove  something." 

"  When  did  he  get  it  ?  " 

"  To-night" 

"  Very  well.  That's  something.  Now  you 
just  sit  still  till  I  tell  you  to  do  something  else." 

So  saying  the  Lieutenant  summoned  a  courier 
or  two,  and  sent  them  off  with  notes. 

"  These  boys  have  a  boat,  you  say  ?  " 

«  Yes." 

"  Do  they  know  how  to  sail  it  ? " 

"A  little ;  the  Captain  handles  it  better'n  the 
rest." 

"  Has  he  ever  been  to  sea  ? " 

"  No,  sir." 

"  What  sort  of  a  boat  is  it  ?  " 

"  A  dug-out ;  we  made  it  ourselves." 

"  Oh,  did  you  ?  Why  didn't  you  tell  me  that 
first?  Never  mind,  it's  all  right.  They'll  never 
try  to  put  to  sea  in  a  dug-out,  but  they  may  try  to 


ANOTHER  EFFORT  TO  GET  EVEN.  189 

escape  to  some  point  lower  down  the  bay  in  it, 
so  my  message  to  the  fort  won't  be  amiss." 

The  Lieutenant  had  sent  a  message  to  the  fort 
that  at  daylight  he  should  arrest  the  party,  and 
that  if  they  should  take  the  alarm  and  try  to  escape 
by  water,  a  boat  must  be  sent  from  the  fort  to  over 
haul  them. 

He  now  dressed  himself,  first  sending  for  a  file 
of  soldiers  under  a  sergeant,  with  instructions  to 
parade  at  his  door  immediately. 

When  all  was  ready  he  said  to  Jake. 

"  Now  then,  young  man,  come  with  me,  and 
guide  me  to  the  camp  of  these  lads." 

Jake  led  the  way,  and  when  a  little  after  day 
light  they  approached  the  camp  the  Lieutenant 
said  to  him  : — 

"  I  don't  want  to  make  any  mistake  in  this 
business.  You  go  ahead  to  the  camp  and  see  if 
the  lads  are  there.  That'll  throw  'em  off  their 
guard,  and  I'll  come  up  in  five  minutes." 

"  But  Lieu — "  began  Jake,  remonstratingly. 

"  Hold  your  tongue,  and  do  as  I  tell  you,  or 
I'll  string  you  up  to  a  tree,  you  rascal." 

Thus  admonished,  Jake  walked. on  in  fear  and 


190 


CAPTAIN  SAM. 


trembling  to  the  camp.  As  he  approached  it  he 
observed  the  unusual  stir  which  was  going  on,  and 
wondered  what  it  meant,  but  he  did  not  for  a  mo 
ment  imagine  that  Sam  had  guessed  the  truth. 


THE  SEA  FIGHT. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE    SEA   FIGHT. 

HEN  Jake  entered  the  camp  it  was  fair 
ly  light,  and  as  Sam  looked  at  him  he 
caught  a  glimpse  of  the  fjle  of  soldiers 
in  the  thicket,  three  or  four  hundred  yards  away. 

He  knew  what  it  meant. 

"  We're  about  to  leave  this  place,  Jake,"  said 
Sam,  as  the  boys  stowed  the  last  of  their  things 
in  the  boat,  "  we're  about  to  leave  this  place,  and 
you're  just  in  time.  Get  in." 

"  Well,  but  where — "  began  the  culprit. 

"Get  in,"  interrupted  Sam,  who  stood  with  one 
of  the  rifles  in  his  hands. 

Jake  hesitated,  and  was  indeed  upon  the  point 
of  running  away,  when  Sam,  placing  the  muzzle  of 
his  gun  almost  against  Jake's  breast,  said : — 

"  Get  into  the  boat  instantly,  or  I'll  let  daylight 
through  you,  sir." 


192  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

There  was  no  help  for  it,  and  Jake  obeyed. 

Sam  quickly  cast  the  boat  loose,  and  as  he 
did  so,  the  Lieutenant  discovered  his  purpose,  and 
started  his  men  at  a  full  run  toward  the  camp. 

Sam  pushed  the  boat  off  and,  taking  his  place 
in  the  stern,  took  the  helm. 

"  Hoist  the  sail,  quick  ! "  he  said ;  and  the  sail 
went  up  in  a  moment.  A  strong  breeze  was  blow 
ing  and  the  sail  quickly  bellied  in  the  wind. 

"  Lie  down,  every  man  of  you,"  cried  Sam,  but 
without  setting  the  example.  A  moment  later  a 
shower  of  bullets  whistled  around  his  ears.  He 
had  seen  that  the  soldiers  were  about  to  fire  upon 
him,  and  had  ordered  his  companions  to  lie 
down,  confident  that  the  thick  solid  sides  of  the 
boat  would  pretty  effectually  protect  them. 

As  for  himself,  he  must  take  the  chances 
and  navigate  his  boat.  The  soldiers  w-ere  not 

O 

more  than  fifty  yards  from  him  when  they  fired 
but  luckily  they  failed  to  hit  him. 

"  Now  for  a  run  !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  Before 
they  can  load  again,  I'll  be  out  of  range,  or  pretty 
nearly." 

The  breeze  was  very  fresh,  almost  high,  and 


THE  SEA  FIGHT.  !93 

as  the  boat  got  out  from  under  the  lee  of  the 
shore  timber,  she  heeled  over  upon  one  side,  and 
sped  rapidly  through  the  water.  The  Lieutenant 
made  his  men  fire  again,  but  the  distance  was 
now  so  great  that  their  bullets  flew  wide  of  the 
mark. 

"  We're  off  boys  at  last.  Look  out  for  Jake 
Elliott  and  don't  let  him  jump  overboard,  or  he'll 
swim  ashore.  He  is  a  prisoner." 

"  Is  he?  what  for?"  asked  Billy  Bowlegs. 

"  For  betraying  us  to  the  British." 

At  this  moment  a  boat  pushed  out  from  the 
dock  at  the  fort,  and  Sid  Russell,  who  was  Sam's 
most  efficient  lieutenant,  and  was  scanning  the 
whole  bay  for  indications  of  pursuit,  cried : 

"  There  goes  a  row  boat  out  from  the  fort,  Sam, 
an'  they's  soldiers  on  board  'n  her.  I  see  their 
guns." 

"  Arm  yourselves,  boys,"  was  Sam's  reply. 
"  I  want  to  say  a  word  first.  Jake  Elliott  has 
betrayed  us  to  these  people,  and  they  are  trying 
to  arrest  us.  If  they  catch  us,  we  shall  be  treated 
as  spies  ;  that  is  to  say,  we  shall  be  hanged  to  the 
most  convenient  tree.  I  believe  we're  all  the  sons 


194  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

of  brave  men,  and  ready  to  die,  if  we  must,  but  I, 
for  one,  don't  mean  to  die  like  a  dog,  and  for  that 
reason  I'll  never  be  taken  alive." 

"  Nor  me,"  "  nor  me,"  "  nor  me,"  answered  the 
boys,  neglectful  of  grammar,  but  very  much  in 
earnest. 

"  Very  well,  then,"  replied  Sam.  "  It  is  under 
stood  that  we're  not  Coiner  to  surrender,  whatever 

o         o 

happens." 

"  It's  agreed,"  answered  every  boy  there  except 
the  wretched  prisoner,  who  was  no  longer  counted 
one  of  them. 

"That  boat  has  no  sail,"  said  Sam,  "and  she's 
got  half  a  mile  to  row  through  rough  water  be 
fore  she  crosses  our  track  half  a  mile  ahead.  I 
think  I  can  give  her  the  slip.  If  I  can't  we'll 
fight  it  out,  right  here  in  the  boat.  Now,  then, 
one  cheer  for  the  American  flag!  "  and  as  he  said 
,it,  Sam  drew  forth  a  little  flag  which  he  had  car- 
Tied  in  all  his  wanderings,  for  use  if  he  should  need 
,it,  and  ran  it  up  to  his  mast  head  by  a  rude  hal 
yard  which  he  had  arranged  in  anticipation  of 
some  such  adventure  as  this. 

The  boys  gave  the   cheer  from  the  bottom  of 


THE  SEA  FIGHT.  ^5 

their  broad  chests,  and  every  one  took  the  place 
which  Sam  assigned  him,  with  gun  in  hand. 
Meantime  Sam  tacked  the  boat  in  such  a  way  as 
to  throw  the  point  of  meeting  between  her  and 
the  British  boat  as  far  from  the  fort  as  possible. 
It  was  very  doubtful  whether  he  could  pass  that 
point  before  the  row  boat,  propelled  by  six  oars  in 
the  hands  of  skilled  oarsmen,  should  reach  it.  If 
not,  there  remained  only  the  alternative  of  "  fight 
ing  it  out." 

"  Reserve  your  fire,  boys,  till  I  tell  you  to 
shoot.  There  are  only  six  armed  men  in  that 
boat.  If  they  shoot,  lie  down  behind  the  gun 
wale.  You  mustn't  shoot  till  we  come  to  close 
quarters.  Then  take  good  aim,  and  make  your 
fire  tell.  A  single  wasted  bullet  may  cost  us  our 
lives.  Above  all,  keep  perfectly  cool.  We've 
work  to  do  that  needs  coolness  as  well  as  deter 
mination." 

The  boats  drew  rapidly  nearer  and  nearer  the 
point  of  meeting,  and  Sam  saw  that  he  would 
succeed  in  passing  it  first,  but  narrowly,  he 
thought. 

"  We'll  beat  them,  boys,"  he  said.     "  The   sea 


196  CAPTALV  SAM. 

is  rough,  and  they  can't  do  much  at  long 
range,  and  they  won't  get  more  than  one  shot 
close  to  us."  At  that  moment  the  men  in  the 
British  boat  fired  a  volley,  after  the  manner  which 
was  in  vogue  with  British  troops  at  that  day.  The 
two  boats  were  not  a  hundred  yards  apart,  but  the 
roughness  of  the  water,  on  which  the  row  boat 
bobbed  about  like  a  cork,  rendered  the  volley  in 
effective. 

"  They're  good  soldiers  with  an  idiot  command 
ing  them,"  said  Sam. 

"  Why  ? "  asked  Tom,  who  was  very  coolly 
studying  the  situation. 

"  Because  he  made  them  fire  too  soon,"  replied 
Sam,  "  and  we  can  slip  by  now  while  they're  load 
ing.  Don't  shoot,  Joe ! "  he  exclaimed  to  the  black 
boy  who  was  manifestly  on  the  point  of  doing 
so.  "  Don't  shoot,  we've  got  the  best  of  them 
now ;  we  are  past  them  and  making  the  distance 
greater  every  second.  Give  them  a  cheer  to  take 
home  with  them.  Hurrah  ! " 

It  was  raining  now,  and  the  wind  was  blowing 
a  gale,  so  that  Sam's  boat  was  running  at  a  speed 
which  made  pursuit  utterly  hopeless.  The  British 


THE  SEA  FIGHT.  igj 

soldiers  fired  three  or  four  scattering  shots,  and 
then  cheered  in  their  turn,  in  recognition  of  the 
admirable  skill  and  courage  with  which  their 
young  adversary  had  eluded  them. 

Sam's  escape  was  not  made  yet,  however.  A 
war  ship  lay  below,  and  her  commander  seeing  the 
chase,  and  the  firing  in  the  bay,  manned  a  light 
boat  with  marines,  and  sent  her  out  to  intercept 
Sam's  craft,  without  very  clearly  understanding 
the  situation  or  its  meaning. 

Sam  saw  this  boat  put  off  from  the  ship,  and 
knew  in  an  instant  what  it  meant.  He  saw,  too, 
that  he  had  no  chance  to  slip  by  it  as  he  had  done 
by  the  other,  as  it  was  already  very  near  to  him, 
and  almost  in  his  track. 

"  Now,  boys,"  he  said  very  calmly,  "  we've  got 
to  fight.  There's  no  chance  to  slip  by  that  boat, 
and  we've  got  to  whip  her  in  a  fair  fight,  or  get 
whipped.  Keep  your  wits  about  you,  and  listen 
for  orders.  Cover  your  gun  pans  to  keep  your 
priming  dry.  Here,  Tom,  take  the  tiller.  I  must 
go  to  the  bow." 

Tom  took  the  helm,  and  as  he  did  so  Sam  said 
to  him. 


198  CAPTA  IN  SAM. 

"  Keep  straight  ahead  till  I  give  you  orders  to 
change  your  course,  and  then  do  it  instantly,  no 
matter  what  happens.  I've  an  idea  that  I  know 
how  to  manage  this  affair  now.  You  have  only 
to  listen  for  orders,  and  obey  them  promptly." 

"  I'll  do  what  you  order,  no  matter  what  it  is," 
said  Tom,  and  Sam  went  at  once  to  the  bow  of  his 
boat. 

His  boys  were  crouching  down  on  their  knees  to 
keep  themselves  as  steady  as  they  could,  and  their 
guns,  which  they  were  protecting  from  the  rain,  were 
not  visible  to  the  men  in  the  other  boat,  who  were 
astonished  to  find  that  they  had,  as  they  supposed, 
only  to  arrest  a  boat's  crew  of  unarmed  boys. 

The  boats  were  now  within  a  stone's  throw  of 
each  other,  the  English  boat  lying  a  little  to  the 
left  of  Sam's  track,  but  the  officer  in  command  of 
it,  supposing  that  the  party  would  surrender  at  the 
word  of  command,  ordered  his  men  not  to  open  fire. 

"  They's  a  mighty  heap  on  'em  for  sich  a  little 
boat,"  whispered  Sid  Russell. 

"  So  much  the  better,"  said  Sam.  "  They're 
badly  crowded." 

Then,  turning  to  his  companions,  he  said : — 


THE  SEA  FIGHT.  199 

"  Lie  down,  quick,  they'll  fire  in  a  moment." 
The  boys  could  see  no  indication  of  any  such 
purpose  on  the  part  of  the  British  marines,  but 
Sam  knew  what  he  was  about  and  he  knew  that 
his  next  order  to  his  boys  would  draw  a  volley 
upon  them. 

Turning  to  Tom,  and  straightening  himself  up 
to  his  full  height,  while  the  British  officer  was  loudly 
calling  to  him  to  lie  to  and  surrender,  Sam  cried  out : 

O 

"  Jam  your  helm  down  to  larboard,  Tom,  quick 
and  hard,  and  ram  her  into  'em ! " 

Tom  was  on  the  point  of  hesitating,  but  re 
membering  Sam's  previous  injunction  and  his  own 
promise,  he  did  as  he  was  ordered,  suddenly  chang 
ing  the  boat's  course  and  running  her  directly  to 
ward  the  British  row  boat,  which  was  now  not  a 
dozen  yards  away.  The  speed  at  which  she  was 
going  was  fearful.  The  British,  seeing  the  ma 
noeuvre,  fired,  but  wildly,  and  the  next  moment 
Sam's  great  solid  hulk  of  a  boat  struck  the  British 
craft  amidships,  crushed  in  her  sides,  cut  her  in 
two,  and  literally  ran  over  her. 

"  Now,  bring  her  back  to  the  wind,"  cried  Sam, 
"  and  hold  your  course." 


200  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

The  boat  swung  around  and  was  flying  before 
the  wind  again  in  a  second.  Boats  were  rapidly 
lowered  from  the  war  ship  to  rescue  the  struggling 
marines  from  the  water  into  which  Sam  had  so 
unceremoniously  thrown  them. 

"  Three  cheers  for  our  naval  victory,  and  three, 
more  for  our  commodore !  "  called  out  Billy  Bow- 
legs,  and  the  response  came  quickly. 

"  It's  too  soon  to  cheer,"  said  Sam.  "  We're 
not  out  of  the  scrape  yet." 

The  next  moment  a  puff  of  smoke  showed  it 
self  on  the  side  of  the  war  ship  and  a  shower  of 
grape  shot  whizzed  angrily  around  the  boat.  A 
second  and  a  third  discharge  followed,  and  then 
came  solid  shot,  sixty-four  pounders,  howling  like 
demons  over  the  boys'  heads,  and  plowing  the 
water  all  around  them.  Their  speed  quickly  took 
them  out  of  range,  however,  and  the  firing  ceased. 

They  now  had  time  to  look  about  them  and 
estimate  damages.  None  of  the  solid  shot  had 
taken  effect,  but  three  of  the  grape  shot  had 
struck  the  boat,  greatly  marring  her  beauty,  but 
doing  her  no  serious  damage. 

"Are  any  of  you  hurt?  "  asked  Sam.  All  the 
boys  reported  themselves  well. 


THE  SEA  FIGHT.  2OI 

"  Then  make  a  place  for  me  in  the.  middle  of 
the  boat,  where  I  can  lie  down,"  replied  Sam,  "  I'm 
wounded." 

"  Where  ? " 

"  How  ? " 

"  Not  badly,  I  hope,  Sam  ?"  the  boys  answer 
ed  quickly. 

"  I'm  hurt  in  two  places.  They  shot  me  as  we 
ran  over  that  boat,"  said  Sam,  "but  not  very  badly, 
I  think.  I'm  faint,  however,"  and  as  he  lay  down 
in  the  boat  he  lost  consciousness. 


202  CAPTAIN  SAM. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

CAPTAIN    SAM. 

HE  boys  were  now  badly  frightened,  and 
the  more  so  because  they  did  not  know 
what  to  do  for  their  chief,  who  lay  dying, 
as  they  supposed.  His  left  hand  and  shoulder 
were  bleeding  profusely,  and  Tom,  remembering 
some  instructions  that  Sam  had  once  given  him* 
with  respect  to  the  stopping  of  a  flow  of  blood,  at 
once  examined  the  wounds,  to  discover  their  na 
ture.  Two  fingers  of  Sam's  left  hand  had  been 
carried  away,  and  a  deep  flesh  wound  showed  itself 
in  his  shoulder.  By  the  use  of  a  handkerchief  or 
two  Tom  soon  succeeded  in  staunching  the  flow  of 

O 

blood,  while  one  of  the  other  boys  sailed  the  boat. 
After  a  little  while  the  dashing  rain  revived  the 
wounded  boy,  and  while  he  was  still  very  weak, 

*  See  "  The  Big  Brother  "  Chapter  3. 


CAPTAIN  SAM.  203 

he  was  able,  within  an  hour,  to  take  the  direction 
of  affairs  into  his  own  hands  again. 

But  what  mischief  may  be  done  in  an  hour ! 
The  boys  had  never  once  thought  of  anything  but 
Sam,  during  all  that  time,  and  they  had  been  sail 
ing  for  an  hour  straight  out  into  the  Gulf  of  Mex 
ico,  at  a  furious  rate  of  speed !  It  was  pouring 
down  rain,  and  land  was  nowhere  visible ! 

When  Sam's  questions  drew  out  these  facts, 
the  boys  were  disposed  to  be  very  much  frightened. 

"  There's  no  cause  for  alarm,  I  think,"  said 
Sam,  reassuringly.  "  I  think  I  know  how  to  man 
age  it,  and  perhaps  it  is  better  so." 

"  Of  course  you  know  how  to  manage,"  said 
Sid  Russell,  admiringly.  "  I'm  prepared  to  bet 
my  hat  an'  boots  on  that,  now  or  any  other  time. 
You  always  do  know  how  to  manage,  whatever 
turns  up.  That  long  head  o'  your'n's  got  more'n 
a  little  in  it." 

Sam  smiled  rather  feebly  and  replied  : — 

"  Wait  till  I  get  you  out  of  the  scrape  we're  in, 
Sid,  before  you  praise  me." 

"  Well,  I'll  take  it  on  trust,"  said  Sid, "  an'  back 
my  judgment  on  it,  too." 


204  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  Let  me  have  your  compass,  Tom,"  he  said ; 
and  taking  the  instrument  which  he  had  confided 
to  Tom's  hands  at  starting  on  the  voyage,  he  open 
ed  his  map  just  enough  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the 
coast  lines  marked  on  it,  having  one  of  the  boys 
hold  a  hat  over  it,  to  protect  it  from  the 
rain  as  he  did  so.  After  a  little  while  he  said : — 

"  Take  the  helm,  Tom,  and  hold  the  boat  due 
west.  There,  that  will  do.  Now  let  her  go,  and 
keep  her  at  that.  The  wind  is  north-east,  and 
she'll  make  good  time  in  this  direction." 

"  Where  are  you  aiming  for,  Sam  ?  "  asked 
Tom. 

"  The  mouth  of  Mobile  Bay." 

"  Does  it  lie  west  ?  " 

"  Not  exactly,  but  a  little  north  of  west.  We 
can  sail  faster  due  west,  however,  and  after  a  while 
we'll  tack  to  the  north  till  we  see  land.  It's  about 
forty  miles  from  the  mouth  of  Pensacola  Bay  to 
the  mouth  of  Mobile  bay,  and  we're  going,  I  think, 
about  six  or  seven  miles  an  hour." 

"But,  how'll  you  find  the  mouth  of  the 
bay?" 

"  I  don't  know  that  I  can,  but  I  can  find  land 


CAPTAIN  SAM,  205 

easily  enough,  as  it  stretches  in  a  bow  all  along  to 
the  north  of  us.  But  I  want  to  strike  as  near 
the  mouth  of  the  bay  as  I  can,  so  as  to  have  as 
little  marching  to  do  as  possible.  If  I  can  get 
into  the  bay,  I  can  sail  clear  up  to  Mobile." 

"But,  Sam?" 

"  Well." 

"  What  if  it  storms  ?  It  looks  like  it  was  go 
ing  to." 

"  Well,  I  think  we  can  weather  it.  This  boat 
can't  spring  a  leak,  and  if  she  fills  full  of  water 
she  won't  sink,  for  she's  only  a  log  hollowed 
out." 

"  That's  so,  but  won't  she  turn  over  like  a 
log?" 

"  I  think  not.  She's  heaviest  at  the  bottom,  and 
I  made  her  keel  very  heavy  on  purpose." 

"  Why,  did  you  expect  to  go  to  sea  in 
her?" 

"  No,  but  I  thought  I  might  have  to  do  it,  to 
get  away  from  Pensacola." 

"  Did  you  think  of  that  when  you  planned  her, 
up  there  in  the  woods  ?  " 

"  Yes." 


206  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

"  Yes,"  said  Sid,  "  of  course  he  did  !  Don't  he 
always  think  of  every  thing  before  it  comes  ? " 

It  was  rapidly  coming  on  to  storm.  The  rain 
was  falling  very  slightly  now,  and  the  wind  was 
shifting  to  the  east  and  rapidly  rising.  Sam  direct 
ed  the  boys  to  shorten  sail,  and  showed  them  how 
to  do  it.  The  wind  grew  stronger  and  stronger, 

o  o  o 

suddenly  shifting  to  the  south.  The  sail  was  still 
further  shortened.  The  sea  now  began  coming 
up,  and  Sam  saw  that  their  chief  danger  was  that 
of  getting  washed  overboard.  He  cautioned  the 
boys  against  this,  and  changed  the  boat's  course, 
so  as  to  keep  her  as  nearly  as  possible  where  she 
was.  A  heavy  sea  broke  over  her,  and  carried 
away  their  only  water  keg,  which  was  a  dire 
calamity.  After  a  little  while  their  store  of  food 
went,  and  they  were  at  sea,  in  a  storm,  without 
food  or  water ! 

"  I  say,  Sam,"  said  Tom. 

"  What  is  it  ?  " 

"  Is  there  land  all  to  the  north  of  us  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  How  far  is  it  ? " 

"  Twenty  miles,  perhaps, — possibly  less." 


CAPTAIN  SAM.  2O/ 

"  Why  can't  we  head  the  boat  about,  and  run 
for  it  ? " 

"  Because  the  wind  is  blowing  on  shore,  and 
there's  a  heavy  surf  running." 

"What  of  that?" 

"  Why,  simply  this,  that  if  we  run  ashore  on  a 
long,  flat  beach,  the  boat  will  be  beaten  to  splinters 
a  mile  or  more  from  land.'' 

"How?" 

"  By  the  waves ;  they  would  lift  her  up,  and  re 
ceding  let  her  drop  suddenly  on  the  sands,  split 
ting  her  to  pieces  in  no  time,  and  the  very  next 
wave  would  do  the  same  thing  for  us.  We  must 
stay  out  here  till  the  storm's  over.  There's  noth 
ing  else  for  it." 

The  storm  lasted  long  enough  to  make  a  furi 
ous  sea,  and  the  boys  could  do  nothing  but  hold 
on  to  the  boat's  gunwales.  As  night  came  on  the 
wind  ceased,  very  suddenly,  as  it  frequently  does 
in  Southern  seas,  but  the  waves  still  rolled  moun 
tain  high. 

"  When  the  sea  goes  down  we'll  try  to  make 
land,  won't  we,  Sam  ? "  asked  Tom. 

"  Yes,  but  before  the  surf  is  safe  for  us,  we  can 


208  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

sail  several  hours  toward  Mobile,  and  gain  that 
much.  Indeed,  I  think  we  can  get  that  far  west 
before  it  will  be  tolerably  safe  to  run  ashore. 
We're  hungry  and  thirsty,  of  course,  but  we  must 
endure  it.  There's  no  other  way." 

The  boat  was  presently  headed  to  the  west, 
and  the  sail  unfurled  again,  but  as  the  night  ad 
vanced  the  wind  fell  to  a  mere  breeze,  and  then 
died  altogether.  It  began  to  grow  hazy.  The 
haze  deepened  into  a  dense  fog.  The  sea  went 
down,  and  the  boat  rocked  idly  on  a  ground  swell. 

"  Now,  let's  run  ashore,"  said  Billy  Bowlegs. 

"  What  will  we  run  with  ?  There  isn't  a  cap 
full  of  wind  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  there  won't 
be  while  this  fog  lasts." 

"  What  shall  we  do,  then  ? " 

"  Nothing,  for  there  is  literally  nothing  to  be 
done,"  answered  Sam. 

"  Mas'  Sam,"  said  Joe,  "  I'll  tell  you  what." 

"Well,  Joe,  what  is  it?" 

"  Ef  we  jist  had  a  couple  o'  paddles." 

"  But  we  just  haven't  a  couple  of  paddles,"  an 
swered  Sam.  "  No,  what  we  need  now  is  courage 
and  endurance.  We  must  wait  for  a  wind,  and 


LAPTA IN  SA M.  209 

keep  our  courage  up.  We  are  suffering  already 
with  hunger  and  thirst,  and  will  suffer  more,  but 
it  can't  be  helped.  We  must  keep  our  courage 
up,  and  endure  that  which  we  cannot  do  anything 
to  cure.  It  is  harder  to  endure  suffering  than  to 
encounter  danger,  but  a  brave  man,  or  a  brave 
boy,  can  do  both  without  murmuring." 

Sam's  words  encouraged  his  companions,  and 
they  managed  to  get  some  sleep.  After  awhile 
day  dawned,  and  the  fog  was  still  thick  around 
them,  while  not  a  zephyr  was  astir.  Nearly  an 
hour  later,  a  sudden  booming  startled  them.  It 
was  a  cannon,  and  was  very  near. 

"  What  is  that  ? "  asked  the  boys  in  a  breath. 

"  A  sunrise  gun,  I  think,''  said  Sam,  "  and  it's 
on  a  ship  or  a  fort.  Now  then  all  together  with  a 
shout." 

They  shouted  in  concert  No  answer  came. 
They  shouted  again  and  again,  and  finally  their 
shout  was  answered.  A  little  later  a  row  boat 
came  out  into  the  fog,  and  the  first  man  Sam  saw 
in  it  was  Tandy  Walker. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  repeat  the  greetings  and 
14 


2io  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

the  explanations  that  were  given.  Sam  learned 
that  the  gun  had  been  fired  from  Fort  Bowyer, 
the  guardian  fortress,  which,  standing  on  Mobile 
Point,  commanded  the  entrance  to  the  bay.  The 
fort  had  been  garrisoned  only  the  day  before,  and 
Tandy  was  one  of  the  garrison.  Sam's  boat  had 
drifted  further  west  than  he  had  supposed,  and  he 
found  himself  now  precisely  at  the  point  he  had 
tried  to  reach. 


As  Sam  was  too  weak  to  walk,  and  there  was 
no  wind  with  which  to  sail  up  to  the  town,  a  mes 
senger  was  sent  by  land  from  the  fort,  bearing  to 
General  Jackson  a  detailed  account  of  Sam's  wan 
derings  and  adventures  in  the  shape  of  a  written 
report.  When  the  wind  served,  the  little  band  of 
weary  wanderers  sailed  up  to  Mobile,  and  when 
Sam  reached  the  hospital  to  which  he  had  been 
assigned  for  the  treatment  of  his  wounds,  he  found 
there  an  official  despatch  from  General  Jackson, 
from  which  the  following  is  an  extract : — 


CAPTAIN  SAM.  2 1 1 

"  The  commanding  General  begs  to  express 
his  high  sense  of  the  services  rendered  by  Samuel 
Hardwicke  and  his  band,  and  his  appreciation  of 
the  rare  courage,  discretion  and  fortitude  display 
ed  by  the  youthful  leader  of  the  Pensacola  scout 
ing  party.  A  few  blank  commissions  in  the  vol 
unteer  forces  having  been  placed  in  the  command 
ing  General's  hands  for  bestowal  upon  deserving 
men,  he  is  greatly  pleased  to  issue  the  first  of  them 
to  Mr.  Hardwicke,  in  recognition  of  his  gallant 
conduct,  creating  him  a  captain  of  volunteers,  to 
date  from  the  day  of  his  departure  on  his  recent 
mission." 

"  So,  you're  really  '  Captain  Sam  '  after  all,"  said 
Sid  Russell,  when  the  document  was  read  in  his 
presence,  and  the  formal  Commission  had  been  in 
spected  reverently  by  all  the  boys. 

"  Yes,  an'  he's  been  a  real  '  Captain  Sam '  all 
the  time,"  said  Billy  Bowlegs. 

What  became  of  Jake  Elliott  ? 

If  he  had  been  an  enlisted  soldier  he  would  have 
been  tried  by  court  martial.  As  it  was,  the  boys 
formally  drummed  him  out  of  their  company,  and 
he  disappeared  from  Mobile.  He  did  not  go  home 


2 1 2  CAPTAIN  SAM. 

as  the  boys  learned  a  few  months  later,  when,  after 
the  battle  of  New  Orleans,  peace  was  proclaimed 
throughout  the  land,  and  they  were  led  back  by 
their  favorite  hero,  Captain  Sam. 


THE  END. 


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